Rewind
by Gabriele Kazlauskaite
Summary: 10 years after the fall of the Dark Lord, the Wizarding World is still being ravaged by Death Eaters. When danger lurks around every corner, Bill takes an important decision and sends two people back in time. /Major character death (in the prologue anyway)/Time travel/Slow Burn/Fremione with a hint of other ships/Rating could change in future/Pre-Maurauder era/
1. Chapter 1

It had been two years since the new Minister had been put in charge and things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Despite Voldemort's defeat in 1998, the amount of followers only grew from then on. It had all started when Percy had been attacked in his office and announced dead. The papers had claimed that it was a death eater that had been on the run that wanted revenge and was caught, but none of the Weasleys were stupid. They knew the numbers were growing. The Muggleborns knew the numbers were growing. The only people who couldn't see it were the Purebloods and some Half Bloods.

First, the new Minister of Magic, Minister Nott Sr. had slowly and carefully evicted all Muggleborns from their positions, using small, almost stupid reasons, as excuses to have them thrown out. The Purebloods and Half Bloods couldn't see it.

Then the Longbottoms had passed. Neville, his grandmother, his wife and his new born child had died suspiciously. The Daily Prophet had claimed they had died in their sleep, but everyone knew that perhaps that would be believable for one person, but not an entire household.

That's when more people began to see the Ministry for what it was becoming. Laws forbidding Blood Traitors from owning a business, for having high ranking positions and even on who they could marry were put in place without anyone seeing them happen.

Arthur Weasley was out of a job, Fred and George had been forced to disband their company, thought they still ran it incognito to bring in money. The Ministry had attempted to shove Bill from his job with the bank, though thankfully, the Goblins couldn't care less what the Ministry wanted and promptly threw them out, keeping Bill in his position. Charlie, living in Romania, was forced to come home, on grounds that he didn't have proper paperwork to be abroad.

Bill had quickly informed his brother of the new Ministry policies that spoke of international travel becoming illegal for them, prompting Charlie to seek refuge in North America, away from Europe after being found a few times by the British ministry. Even the Romanian government were trying to send him home. Contacts from Durmstrang had gotten a Portkey for Charlie for an escape, sending him directly to the Wizarding school of Ilvermorny in the United States.

Ron had lost his position as an Auror and was no longer allowed to work in law enforcement. The Quidditch team that Ginny played for had attempted to kick her off, yet she fought back and kept her place by force, greatly displeasing the manager but the players silently thanked her and were proud they had such a great and dedicated player with them.

While it seemed hard and they struggled to get by, it hadn't been the end yet. The Weasleys had yet to forget what had happened to Percy weeks before and knew there was something going on, deeper within the connections of the Ministry. And it was about to get much, much worse.

Muggleborn students that had taken part of the large battle of 1998 had quickly begun to go missing, something that was becoming more and more evident to Hermione and Dean.

It had not taken long for someone, the majority being Muggles, to report to the police that they had found a corpse. The moment the Aurors arrived, they knew exactly what had happened. Crucio and Avada Kedavra.

Then Dean disappeared and Hermione was forced into hiding. It didn't take long for Ron to be found in an alleyway, covered in bruises and what seemed to be slashes across his body, ones identical to Sectumsempra.

It had been the last straw for the Weasleys.

They had contacted Bill and arranged for a Portkey to America, to the home of the second Weasley son who resided in the eastern portion of the United States.

But things didn't go as planned that night. Far from it.

* * *

"Clothes boys?" the men nodded all together. "Wands?" Everyone nodded. "Toothbrushes? Hair brushes? Ju-" Arthur stopped his wife from asking more.

"Molly dear, we have everything. We just need to wait 15 more minutes before the portkey leaves. It won't leave before then." Molly nodded in understanding as her family, those who were left, Harry and Hermione included, all sat near where the Portkey would appear.

5 minutes prior to the Portkey's given time to disappear, it would appear in the middle of the room for them to grab and disappear at the given time.

Though they had ever imagined what happened next.

The Weasley family wards had been broken through. And by many people at that. Every person present pulled out their wand and got ready, everyone covering each other's blind spots in case a battle broke out. And one did in full force.

There had been many Death Eaters to enter and it didn't take long for them to burn the Burrow. They had actually needed to evacuate during the battle, the flames becoming too unbearable and hot, eventually trapping Arthur and Molly within the confines of the intense flames and falling beams.

The familiar CRACK of the Portkey appearing had made everyone dread the outcome of the battle. They had narrowly escaped the burning house full of falling beams, the exception being their parents, and now the Portkey was in the very middle of it, most likely crushed by the flames.

By then, the Death Eaters had surrounded the remaining adults: Bill, Fred, George, Harry, Hermione and Ginny.

"When you escape this, leave the wards and apparate away." Bill quietly commanded to them. Everyone nodded in sync. "We'll meet at Location A tomorrow at sunrise." Their opponents began throwing dozens of hexes, the group needing to separate to maintain their survival. "If no one is there, get to safety. We'll send a Patronus."

Every one of them had been thankful for the darkness around them and their knowledge of the land.

Ginny and Harry had dashed for the Tree line, and it had been Ginny who had reached the shadows of safety first. Harry, being injured already, had been hit to the back with a violent spell that sent him to the ground with a cry. Ginny had somehow pulled him into the shadows and out of sight as the Death Eaters searched for her and the ex-Auror.

On the other hand, the twins and Hermione had gotten the same idea. They had dashed straight for the brooms in the shed, seeing as they were on the way in the direction of the road. Hermione was following closely behind the twins on her own broom, a flurry of bright different coloured spells flying past them.

George, being the slightly faster flyer, was leading the way, until it seemed like life had slowed down significantly. For Fred and Hermione, they had grown paler when a familiar green light hit him in the back and sent him to the ground. Fred let out a strangled cry as he slowed down for his fallen twin.

"George!" Fred shouted as he watched his brother crash to the ground, unmoving in the darkness.

"GO FRED! DON T STOP! WE LL BOTH DIE IF WE SLOW DOWN!" Hermione forced herself to shout as more lights passed them. She knew she was being insensitive, but it had to be done if they both wanted to live. She watched Fred shake his head and speed up to their destination, finally in sight as they pushed even harder.

Narrowly missing the spells, they quickly hopped off their brooms and ran the few meters away. That is, until Fred was hit with a spell hitting his leg and sending him flying across the floor, blood seeping through his pants.

Hermione quickly grabbed his arms and dragged him, and with help from his pushing efforts, they reached the apparition point and Hermione apparated the two away to an obscure area of Muggle London.

"Hermione, where are we?" Fred asked, gritting his teeth as he held his leg in pain.

Hermione looked around, stepping out and peeking out to the deserted road before heading back to Fred. "We're in Muggle London." She told him as she peaked at the blood on his leg. "We can apparate closer to my apartment, but your injury looks bad. It would be a bad idea." Hermione mumbled as she recovered it.

"Apparate away." He told her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and apparated to the alley beside her apartment building. She looked around to see if there was anyone before swinging Fred's arm around her shoulder and helping him stand, using her as support.

From there, she helped him up the stairs to her apartment and opened the door, leading him inside and kicking the door shut. She sat him on the couch as she went to search for a first aid kit.

It had taken a few minutes to properly clean the wound before she could continue healing it with her wand.

Once finished tending to Fred's leg, Hermione took out a sheet of paper and a pen and began to write out a letter.

"Who're you writing to?" He asked her from the couch

"Just a acquaintance of mine." she told him as she read over the letter ad sealed it shut. "He's going to know what to do."

"Ooh, it's a he?" Fred teased. "A lover, perhaps?" He winked at her, causing her to look at him shocked.

Hermione immediately shot back at his insinuation. "Of course not! He's married, for Merlin's sake!"

He lifted his hands in defeat. "I didn't know if you were into that or not." Hermione shook her head tiredly. Fred was still smirking and teasing her about this acquaintance of hers.

"You should get some sleep. We need to get to the location tomorrow morning before sunrise." She told him, throwing him a blanket and a pillow.

"You won't play mediwitch for me any longer?" He called out teasingly as she left for her bedroom.

"Go to bed!"

"Oh alright..."

* * *

It was still dark when Fred was woken up by a sound he desperately wanted to blow up right then and there. As quickly as it had woken him up, it had stopped. Seconds later, Hermione emerged form her bedroom and came into view.

"Sleep well?"

"Very comfy couch." Hermione narrowed her eyes as Fred smiled.

"Can you stand on your own?" Fred shrugged before throwing off the blanket and stood up testing his leg by shifting his weight before smiling and nodding. "Right. Let's go." she picked up her jacket and bag as Fred picked up his backpack.

Hermione took Fred's arm as he apparated them away to a forest with a cave.

"It is almost sunrise, right?" he asked her, looking up to the trees to the dark sky. "What time was it when we left?"

"Right before six." answered Hermione. She took a seat on one of the rocks and leaned back again a tree. "Now, we wait. If no one shows up by the time the sun is out, we leave."


	2. Chapter 2

They had sat around for an hour now, throwing rocks up into the trees and even attempting to climb to cave exterior when they became bored. The sun had peaked through the horizon and no one had shown themselves.

It was only after the sun had begun to shine directly in Hermione and Fred's eyes that a Corporeal Patronus appeared. A Horse, meaning Ginny had sent it.

"_We've been compromised. Go into hiding_!" Ginny's voice sounded broken. Fred and Hermione paled as they could hear shouting in the back, Ginny's voice being the loudest. "_Fred! Bill informed me that you have to do the thing, I don't know what that means, but do it_!" Fred's face twisted for a fraction of a second as he nodded, the Patronus growing fainter as screams and curses could be heard being shouted in the back. "_HARRY!_" With the last shout, the Horse evaporated into thin air and Hermione looked to Fred, who seemed to be getting paler and paler.

"We need to get to Gringotts." Fred told Hermione. "We need to get there as soon as possible."

Hermione was surprised at the determination in Fred's voice. Whatever this thing was, it had to have been planned between Fred and Bill pretty recently. To not even refer it to something specific meant it had to be extremely secretive. Secretive enough for one part of the family to not even know about it.

"How close to Diagon Alley can you apparate us?" Fred asked Hermione. She thought for a moment before replying.

"The Leaky Cauldron." Fred nodded as she took his arm and apparated to the deserted alleyway of Muggle London.

"Before we go in, I'll just use _Colovaria_ on you." Fred informed her as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at her hair. "We're still wanted, and you look too much like Hermione. You get to be a Weasley for a few hours." He smiled as he casted wordlessly, turning her brown hair to flaming ginger. "And I'll take yours." He casted on himself, turning his hair to a dark shade of brown.

"Do you think we look natural enough?" She raised a brow as Fred nodded to her question.

"Definitely." The two clipped their cloaks around their necks and entered the dusty pub.

Tom was still working at the bar and waved to them. The pub seemed to be void of many people. The few seated in the corners were also wrapped in their cloaks and trying to hide their faces from the other patrons. Some talked over a pint of beer at the bar and others observed silently.

"Diagon Alley?" The barman asked them. They both nodded as Fred took out his wand to show him. The barman pointed to the back and they both walked in silence to the wall of bricks. Fred tapped a few bricks and the wall opened up to the once brightly decorated Diagon Alley.

Walking through, the wall closed behind them as they observed the old happy magical district. It resembled more Knockturn Alley with the dull, dark tones everywhere, some wanted posters here and there, and no children in sight.

"This is depressing..." Fred mumbled, frowning at the Alley he once called home to his business.

"Way to state the obvious." Hermione whistled as they made a beeline for the bank. "Now would be the ideal time for your business to make a comeback." Fred agreed with her without hesitation. They entered the bank and went directly to a goblin, no line whatsoever as the entire building seemed to be mostly deserted.

"Good morning." The Goblin greeted them.

"Good morning. We would like to see Curse-breaker Weasley." Fred showed them an object from his pocket, one that Hermione couldn't see. The Goblin immediately showed them the way behind his desk.

"Of course. Follow me." The trio walked in silence until they came to the office labeled_ Head CurseBreaker W. A. Weasley_. The Goblin knocked and grumbled something in Gobbledegook, the door opening right after, letting them in.

Bill sat at his desk, visible injuries, a cloak hugged tightly around him. Instead of the dark red Hermione would instantly recognise as Bill's gorgeous hair, it had been coloured using a charm to make his own now muddy brown, identical to Fred's.

The Goblin left the room, leaving the two Weasleys and Hermione alone. "Where's George?" When Fred shook his head, Bill's face turned grim in understanding. "Ah... I see you got Gin's Patronus then."

"Do you have the book with you?" Fred asked him, his tone as if he was about to crack. Hermione knew Fred had been extremely upset last night, his parents and twin dying in front of him causing quite a number on his mood. He had lightly joked the night before, but she knew what had been going through his mind at the time.

"What book?" Hermione immediately perked up at the mention of her favourite object.

Bill seemed to sense her curiosity rather quickly. "The family Grimoire." He started. "All the Pureblood families have one. Well, the ancient ones anyway. Family spells and secrets are kept in it. Strictly for Weasley eyes only." Bill took out a thick tome that had to be dated at least 300 years, wrapped in multiple metal vines that kept the book closed firmly. The covers were made of thick dusty leather and made a thump as it was placed on the table. "Gin told you about the thing?" Fred nodded Good. "That's what you two are going to do."

Fred was quick to shoot back to his eldest brother. "We can't do that to her! Who knows where she'll end up!" Hermione was confused at the two discussing.

"Do you think I want to do this to either of you?! We have to do this!" Bill shouted back. "We know you'll be here! But it needs two people to cast and I'm not strong enough!"

"But she could end up in France for all we know!" Fred shouted. "How are we to know who's her last Pureblood relative?! She's Muggleborn!"

Hermione had had it with the last comment. She demanded answers. Her status of witch was being put into question. "Can someone explain what is going on? Why are you saying these things?"

The two brothers calmed down and looked at the Muggleborn girl, sighing before Fred spoke up. "The thing we are referring to is an ancient spell to send two people back in time. Permanently."

"It sends the casteds back a few generations into their magical Pureblood bloodlines, for example, Fred could become a Prewett, Black, or even stay a Weasley if he's lucky. For you, your last Pureblood relative could be anyone for all we know. You could reappear in Asia for all we know." Bill explained to her. "That person would be reborn into a different family and might even have other siblings, and their place would disappear in the present, unless they're born again here, then two of the same person might be in the present, one older by multiple generations if they reappear in a generation close enough, say one or two."

"So, if I understand properly, if you casted the spell on me and I went back, say 60 years, then I would reborn into another family, and Hermione Granger would still be born the year I was born?"

"Wow, the rumours do you justice. You really do catch on fast." Bill smiled. "That's exactly it."

"Say I was reborn a Prewett, I might become Mum's brother, cousin, relative, depending on how far back I go." explained Fred

"But you wouldn't remember any of the life with that family." Hermione countered.

"That's what special about this spell." Bill started. "You're given a completely new set of memories, so if you have a sibling, you would remember spending time with that person, with your new parents and all that."

"And keep the present memories?" Hermione asked.

"Precisely. You would have the memories of yourself reborn and your present self." Bill looked at her, his expression turned serious as he took a deep breath. "That's why I'm going to cast it on the both of you."

"But If I'm going to be sent back to my most recent Pureblood magical bloodline, how will we know where I go?"

"We'll do a blood test on you right now." Bill took out a parchment. "This here, when a drop of your blood is spilled on the paper, will reveal your most recent Pureblood relative. I'll keep it to myself though." He opened the paper and took out a knife. "The honours are yours, Hermione." Hermione shakily took the knife and pricked her finger, letting a red drop fall onto the paper.

Bill picked it up carefully as it glowed. As the writing appeared, he paled a bit before shaking away the feeling and closing up the parchment.

"And?" Hermione raised a brow. "How far back?"

"The 16th century." He told her. "And that's all you'll know for now." Bill took out his wand and burned the parchment for precautions. "But know that you will reappear not too far from here." He smiled as he placed the tome into a small bag, one with an extension charm on it. He turned to Fred and handed him the bag. "Fred, only a Weasley can open this bag and Hermione. I've given her access to the Grimoire's content. Find a safe place to cast. It'll need quite the preparations and we can't do it here." Fred nodded as he passed the bag to Hermione.

"What about you Bill? Only a Weasley can cast. And I can't cast it on myself." Fred asked Bill, who smiled, almost sadly.

"I'll cast it on you, so send me a Patronus when the preparations are ready."

"Why can't you come with us?" Hermione asked, breaking her silence.

"As the new head of the Weasley Family, I have to stay alive. And I've got quite the bounty on my head right now. Death Eaters are lurking all over Diagon. Disillusioned, makeshift invisibility cloaks, they're everywhere." He explained. "That's why I'm in here for the last few hours, and I certainly can't apparate from within the bank, so it s a one shot deal." Fred and Hermione nodded as Bill let out a small laugh. "Save the future. Don't let this happen." Bill sent them out of his office, their heads held high as Bill retook his seat in his chair.

* * *

Hermione and Fred apparated away, back to Hermione s living room in her flat. A grim feeling hung the two.

"We can't do the preparations here. We need another place." Hermione noticed the owl on the window perch. "He answered back." She mumbled as she pet the owl and untied the envelope tied to the owl s leg.

"What's it say?" Fred took the bag back and pulled out the Grimoire, opening the thick leathery cover.

"We've got our safeplace." Hermione smiled as she began reading the letter out.

"_Dear Hermione, _

_I received your letter and this shall be one of your favours. It is becoming too difficult to converse via owl due to my mother's current standing in society, but we are both willing to help you in as many ways as we can. You last requested someplace where you could stay indefinitely, unreachable to almost everyone and out of view._

_I must say, taking Weasey with you to Muggle London was brilliant and they're searching avidly for the both of you and the eldest Weasley, I believe his name is William. They've heard of the Dragon tamer going to America and have given up presently to find him, leaving you three as the last targets. _

_Your place of interest would most likely be my mother's Safehouse in London. __I heard it was the last meeting place for the old organisation, the Order of the Phoenix. Would this be true by any chance? Meet my mother and I at 14:30h this afternoon. The Death Eaters are crawling around every corner, even in the Muggle world. Do not go out looking like yourself in broad daylight, unless you wish a slow painful death for you and the Twin. _

_Best of Luck, Draco Abraxas Malfoy."_

Hermione closed up the letter and let it burn in her fireplace.

"You were writing to Malfoy yesterday?" Fred looked skeptically to Hermione. Since when had she been writing to him, an ex Death Eater? This was beyond strange. Why would he do anything for her? Did he not think of her as a Mudblood anymore?

"He owed me a favour from the battle of Hogwarts. I helped keep him and his mother out of Azkaban and in return, I could ask for anything. That favour came in handy today." She smiled as Fred closed the book and placed it back into the bag. "We have two hours until we need to meet up. Would you like some lunch?"

"Asking a Weasley if they're hungry? Don't you already know the answer to that, Granger?" Fred smirked as Hermione motioned him into her kitchen.

* * *

"I hope you make this count, Hermione." Draco opened the door to Grimmauld Place, his mother behind him.

"Is there anything you need? Anything at all?" Narcissa placed her hand on Hermione s shoulder, kindness in her eyes.

"Yes actually. Would it be possible that we could get these objects?" She handed a handwritten list to Draco, who raised an eyebrow at the odd combination of objects.

"What kind of ritual are you doing?" Draco asked, curious at the list.

"That is confidential." Fred told them as they made their way to the Tapestry room. "Would it be possible to retrieve the items as soon as possible?"

"I will assume this has something to do with your Family Grimoire, am I right?" Narcissa smiled at Fred, his reaction an interest to her. Alright. "I will only need this afternoon to gather them."

She moved to the Floo and disappeared in the green flames.

"I don't know what you're doing, but if it brings this madness to a stop, I'm all for it." Draco told them. "Anything to make all of this come to an end."

"That's what we're hoping for of course."

It had barely taken Narcissa three hours to gather the objects and be back at Grimmauld place.

"Had it been anyone else, questions would have been asked." Narcissa told them as she placed the objects on the table. "Many of these are rare and cost a fortune."

Hermione pulled out her wand and mumbled. "_Expecto Patronum"_ Letting her silver otter dance and fly out of the window, off to go inform Bill of the preparations being complete.

* * *

Bill finally arrived, 15 minutes after the Patronus came back, out of breath and his wand out in his hands.

"We shall take our leave." Narcissa smiled to the Weasleys and Hermione. "If there is anything at all, do not hesitate to contact us."

And thus, the Malfoys disappeared and Bill set up the objects in the correct order. "Are you both ready?" Fred and Hermione hesitantly nodded. "Once you go back, find each other as soon as possible. If we do this correctly, you'll both be 11 and about to go to Hogwarts for your first year and it should be after 1950. Stay together and stop You-Know-Who from taking over." The two nodded and Bill lifted his wand, waving it in intricate patterns while a golden light enveloped the two, the foreign words Bill mumbled resounded louder and louder every time he repeated them until the two had simply vanished.

Bill sighed in relief as the bag holding the Grimoire fell to the floor. He picked it up and floo'ed back to the bank, where he replaced the Grimoire into the Weasley Family Vault, securing it closed and locked away for as long as it needed. He closed the vault slowly and locked it well and finally left the underground and returned to his office.

Taking out a bottle of Firewhiskey, he twisted the cap and poured some into a small cup and let it swish around the glass. "To think we've come so far..." he placed the glass opposite to him and took out a second glass and poured some more.

A ghost appearing in the other chair, in front of the cup. A kind smile in the old eyes of the deceased man. "It was a good decision, William. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Dad." Bill took a drink from the glass.

The shouting from behind the door began to get louder and louder until finally, the door was broken down, a dozen men entering with masks and cloaks, their wands pointed to the Head of the Family.


	3. Chapter 3

"Freddie~ Wake up!"

_'Whose voice is that? It's obviously a little girl though..._ ' Fred thought as he tried to wake himself up.

"Don't make me jump on you." Those words made him try to wake himself up even more, yet it didn't work.

A flurry of images passed through his mind at light speed, giving him the image of his siblings, all girls, but fixing themselves up with his old memories.

The images halted when he felt a heavy weight abruptly come crashing onto him.

His eyes shot open and he doubled in pain, pushing the person that had jumped on him off his bed.

"Finally." He looked over to the girl that had jumped on him while he slept. Her dark eyes and mess of black curls triggered a few memories. "Mum wants you downstairs for breakfast, you big lazy." She skipped away and slammed the door on her way out.

He groaned and looked around. His bedroom was dull and there were a few pictures on his nightstand.

Picking one up, it was a family picture of him and three younger girls. One was a blond and she was the smallest of the three girls. The second was a brunette, a face he remembered distinctly from seeing so often. The taller of the girls was the one that had jumped him while he slept. And he had very similar features basing off the picture.

'_That... She looks like Andy... Wait... Wasn't Andy disowned by her family? She isn't old enough yet, looking at this... Who were her sisters again_ ' He looked closer at the blond, recognizing the steel gray eyes and the pointed look. '_No. Absolutely not. I am NOT related to Narcissa Malfoy!_' As the thought ran through his mind he paled slightly at the realisation. '_That...That means I'm Bellatrix's brother too..._ ' He shivered violently as the images ran through his mind again.

Memories of them all playing together, some were of them eating as a family, and a few shared birthdays as well. Then he realised with whom he shared a birthday.

'_NO! I DO NOT SHARE A BIRTHDAY WITH BELLATRIX! NO!'_ He wanted to hit his head off a desk when he realised he was the same age and shared a birthday with Bellatrix Lestrange, or rather Bellatrix Black right now. The resemblance made sense now. Why he resembled her so strongly compared to his two other sisters in the picture. _'I did not need a second twin Great. Just great.'_

He shook his head and got out of bed, now a lot shorter than he used to be, he realized just how close to the ground he was. He was going to miss towering over everyone at home. Now he was the oldest child of the Black Family in this time, meaning one thing.

'_Oh no... I'm the Heir aren't I..._' The position always went to the eldest son in the family. And Fred's memory served him well enough to remember that Sirius and Regulus were a lot younger than their female cousins were.

Once dressed, he left his room and descended the halls. _'Grimmauld Place... I wasn't aware they had lived here too.'_ He remembered the ancestral house looking a lot more grim in his time.

"Frederick!" He turned to the direction of the high voice before being tackled into a hug. A head of straight, blond hair was all he saw.

"Narcissa, what's gotten into you?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing!" She smiled before skipping down the hall towards the lower floor.

"Did it to me as well this morning." Another voice said, one he recognised. "I don't know what she's hiding." Andromeda passed him, putting her hair up into a braid over her shoulder. "Sleep well?" He nodded as they went down the stairs and entered the dining room where their mother and father were seated, reading the newspaper.

"Frederick! Andromeda! What took you both so long?" Their father, Cygnus, asked them, exasperation in his expression.

"Helped Andy with her braid." Fred said quickly as his sister nodded.

"You did a horrible job." His mother reproached him.

"Braid my hair, Freddie!" Narcissa beamed, as if she hadn't even heard her mother and father. "Pleaaaase?" She pleaded.

"Alright." Fred took a seat at the table as the House Elf, Kreacher who seemed to be in better shape, brought out their breakfast.

"Your book lists came Frederick, Bellatrix, Andromeda. We'll be going to Diagon Alley to pick up your supplies." Their mother Druella said. "The Lady Malfoy wishes to see you both off to Hogwarts. Lucius will be there as well." Bellatrix and Narcissa seemed to grin at the mention of the Malfoy Heir. "After breakfast, go and find your cloaks and we'll be off."

Everyone began eating their breakfasts and no more words were shared. Once finished, Bellatrix had pulled Fred from his seat and dragged him up the stairs, rambling about how excited she was about going to Hogwarts. He had joined on about what they d learn and things without divulging anything too strange. After all, he had remembered everything he had done and learned from his own seven years and he was going to be restarting everything.

"Are you going to meet up with Cantankerus and Antonin? They're going too! I'll go find Isabelle and Anita. No doubt they'll be in the best House with us. Slytherin only takes the best." Bellatrix went on and on about her plans as Fred just listened, searching for his cloak as he nodded and hummed to show he was still paying attention.

Once the two had their cloaks, they found Andromeda and Narcissa standing excitedly near the Floo, their parents coming into the room. "Frederick, take Narcissa with you through the Floo, I'll take Bellatrix and your father will take Andromeda by apparition. Off to the Leaky Cauldron with the two of you." Fred nodded as he extended his arm for his youngest sister and took a pinch of the Floo dust.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" They were engulfed in flames as they reappeared in one of the backrooms of the pub. They stepped out and were greeted by the barman.

Fred sighed in his mind, thanking any beings above that the pub had barely changed from how he remembered it. It was still somewhat dusty, patrons drinking and talking quietly while the one or two suspicious individuals decked out in dark cloaks drank in the corner. It had barely changed. The man at the bar took out his wand and tapped the wall, letting them through to Diagon Alley, where they easily met up with their parents and two other siblings at the entrance of Knockturn Alley.

From there, Cygnus had given Fred a small bag of coins and sent Narcissa off with him to Flourish and Blotts, telling him to make sure she wouldn't buy half the store.

Basing himself off the memories that regularly flowed into his mind, he saw that Narcissa was quite the avid reader and was more often than not in the library. He would always check the library first if someone was looking for her and it would take more than once to call her out of her little world, much like Hermione had been, back at Hogwarts.

Entering the bookstore, there were a few others around picking out books as Narcissa had quickly darted off into her favourite aisle to pick out anything new that she hadn't read. He walked around, expecting his sister to come back with a dozen books in her arms when he noticed someone he knew walk through the entrance. The long platinum hair was unmistakable.

"Ah, Heir Black. How nice to see you here." Lucius Malfoy greeted him." It has been quite some time since you've been to Diagon Alley, has it?" He raised a perfectly shaped pale eyebrow as Fred nodded politely. "You are starting at Hogwarts in September, aren't you?" His tone was missing the condescending aspect Fred had known in the future.

"I am. May I ask what year you're going into?" Fred asked. It pained him to be nice to a Malfoy, but right now, he was a Black, meaning he had to uphold a reputation and it was widely known that the Malfoys and Blacks were close.

"I will be entering my second year. My sister will be starting this September as well." Fred's thought processed when he mentioned a sister.

'_I don't remember Lucius having a sister..._' As if Lucius had read his mind, he waved over someone who was in the street. A girl, much shorter than both of the pureblood males, had long Malfoy blonde hair and cold blue eyes.

"Heir Black, this is my sister, Hermione Malfoy. Hermione, this is Frederick Black, heir to the House of Black. He'll be in your year at Hogwarts."

Recognition shot through both of their expressions as they smiled and nodded at each other. Who knew Lucius Malfoy would make his job of finding Hermione that much easier?

"A pleasure, Miss Malfoy."

"Likewise, Heir Black."

"You'll likely be in the same House together, so you've got a friend now." Lucius ruffled his sister s hair playfully as she turned red and tried to swat his hand away.

"Lucius, I can make my own friends." She said bashfully, trying to look away. Her pale skin was quickly turning pink as she blushed in embarrassment. Fred let out a small chuckle at the sight.

"At least we'll know each other." Fred smiled at Hermione, a knowing look shared between the two.

"Frederick!" Narcissa came into view with almost 15 books and tomes in her arms and a large grin. "Come and pay for it!" she motioned over to the bookstore keeper, who looked at the youngest Black girl as if she had grown a second head right there.

"I'm sure the young Miss Black requires some assistance with those." Lucius laughed a bit at the sight of Narcissa attempting to balance the books in her arms, the height of all the tomes almost reaching higher than her head. "Best go and help her." Lucius nodded as he motioned Hermione out of the shop with their own books in hand.

"Narcissa..." Fred paled at the books and the little pouch in his hands. '_Oh that's right! We have money now.' _Fred opened the pouch and pulled out dozens of golden galleons while also keeping Narcissa from running off for more books as she pleaded him for more.

* * *

For those wondering why andromeda is going to hogwarts as well, in this story, she'll be a few months older than Fred and Bellatrix, meaning they're in the same year.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Hermione found herself gathering her luggages, her brother Lucius helping her while managing his own leather bags.

Alexandra and Abraxas Malfoy had attempted to keep the majority of Hermione's books, only to realise she started hiding the ones they took in Lucius bag instead. He seemed fine with it and even helped her a bit, but her parents weren't impressed. She understood why, but how could she help it!

"Hermione, dear, must you take so many books with you?" Her mother asked her as she opened her daughter's trunk and sorted through the novels. "Don't you think some of these may be too advanced for you? You don't need to know some of this until next year."

"Alexandra, you know how she is. The brightest in her year, she'll be." Her father pat her shoulder affectionately. "She'll be the smartest one." He smiled down at his daughter.

"Ah yes, of course." Alexandra hesitantly gave her daughter her book back. "But do make friends please. You won't find everything in the library." She told Hermione, hoping any deity above that her daughter wouldn't spend every waking hour of the day in the library.

"It's almost 10:30. We should be leaving for King's Cross right now." Abraxas informed the two siblings and his wife. "Pack your bags and grab your cloaks. We're apparating." Lucius helped Hermione pick up her luggage with a smile as Hermione grabbed the other suitcase. Reaching the apparition point and apparating with her mother, Lucius with her father, they popped out near the Platforms, and loaded their baggages onto trolleys to head to platform 9 3/4.

It did not take long for old chums of Lucius to show up and go through the platform together.

"Lucius! You didn't tell me that your baby sister was coming too!" A dark haired wizard with an accent surprised Hermione by poking her shoulder unexpectedly. The accent sent shivers down Hermione's back as she tried to keep herself from paling. It was one that she came to recognise and keep her guard around.

"Hermione, this is Antonin Do-"

"Dolohov." Hermione finished for her brother. "I've heard many things." She smiled at the wizard.

"Good things, I hope." The Russian wizard smiled slyly at the Malfoy girl.

"Of course." Replied Hermione.

"Malfoy!" The group turned and saw the Blacks approaching. Fred, Bellatrix and Andromeda all had their trolleys with them and were headed towards them.

Fred turned to tell his parents something before leaving the trolley with them and heading over to talk with Hermione.

"Who knew they'd be your siblings," Hermione tried not to laugh but it seemed to be really difficult to keep a straight face. "You started off with five brothers and a sister, now you've got 3 sisters and no brothers." She whispered and let out a snort.

"Ah, but you won't be laughing when you realise who you might be sharing a dorm with." Fred told her, pointed to his sister with the mess of black curls.

"No... That... That isn't Bellatrix, is it?" She looked almost hopeful that he tell her that it was someone else.

"That's Bellatrix alright." He confirmed her worst fears. "And it's not even the worse part." Hermione looked a bit horrified.

"What's worse?"

"You know George and I right? Twins?" she nodded slowly. "Same with her." Her face paled rather quickly before the colour drained back a few seconds later and she looked around anxiously. "Yep. I now have a twin sister It's the one and only..."

Hermione shot him a pitying look as they saw their respective parents approach them to then point to the train and the clock. "It's time children."

"Meet me on the train." Hermione told him. Lucius came by and pushed her gently in the direction of the train as Narcissa tackled Fred into yet another hug.

"Write me." she ordered him. "Don't forget!" she let him go and waved him off as he hopped onto the Hogwarts Express. Andromeda quickly followed behind and pushed him in, removing him from the line of sight of their younger sister.

* * *

"Lucius... I don't think your sister likes me very much." Antonin confessed to Lucius. "God, she looked at me as if she despised me."

"She's just shy around strangers, Antonin. Don't you worry." The blond Heir reassured him. "Just wait and see, she'll come around."

"I just wish she just naturally liked me, you know? She and Black were talking as if they knew each other for ages. Like best friends, you know?"

Lucius seemed to think about it for a moment. "She's just excited to finally have a friend her age. Mother and Father are always bringing older folks to the manor, so she doesn't see any other children her age."

"You think she'll be Slytherin?" Antonin asked him, taking a few sugar quills out of his pocket and handing some over to his friend.

"No doubt, Dolohov." Lucius laughed heartily. "She's a Malfoy after all!"

The two friends ate the sweets as the train moved forward through the country.

* * *

"Fred! Finally found you!" Hermione bounded into the compartment and closed the door behind her. She quickly took a seat on the opposing bench and swung her legs over onto the seat.

"Took you long enough." Fred said. "How are your oh-so-evil Slytherin parents and brother?"

"Fred, he's honestly not that bad," Hermione told him. She smiled as she remembered the night before and this morning. "And the last few hours, they've been really sweet! He's not all evil like he was with Voldemort. Mum and dad are too, Abraxas is a bit cold sometimes but it's to be expected."

"Cygnus and Druella are rather cold too. They told me good morning and proceeded to scold me." Fred said, scratching his black hair. "And I miss being ginger..." He mumbled sadly. "I really loved that hair and the freckles."

"That reminds me. How's being Bellatrix, Andy and Narcissa's brother going? You seem to get along well with them." Said Hermione. They're your sisters now, and Bellatrix is your twin, so I wonder how close you all are."

"Well, I got an interesting wake up the morning we arrived. Bellatrix jumped on me to wake me up. Narcissa tackled me in a hug and Andy rolled her eyes. I will qualify us as being 'close'." Fred made quotation marks with his fingers and grinned.

"They sound so..." She paused for a few moments to find the right word.

"Pure? Innocent? Angel-like?" Fred raised a dark brow and smirked. "I know. It feels off."

"In what way off?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You know how Bellatrix and Andromeda don't get along in the original timeline?" Hermione nodded as Fred continued. "They get along so well here. The're closer to each other than to Narcissa."

"And to think two of them become Death Eaters" Fred and Hermione tried to shake the thoughts out of their heads.

"I'll make one thing clear though." Fred started, catching Hermione off guard with his seriousness. "We're 11. Were just kids. Let's make the most of this and not worry about what's to come." As Hermione was about to counter, Fred continued. "We'll worry about that in a few years. It would be odd to see two 11 year olds worrying about the future. We're supposed to be ignorant of the dangers of the world and we're supposed to be innocent." She huffed and crossed her arms. "Hey, think about it. If Dumbles hears about two first years worrying about Death Eaters, he'll know something is off.'

"And it doesn't help that he's a legilimens." Fred eyes widened at her words.

"He's a Legilimens?!" Hermione nodded. "Even better reason not to pull attention to ourselves."

"Says the one who can't help but pull attention to himself every day." Hermione mumbled.

"Oi!"

"Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you."

* * *

"Fred look." Hermione pointed out of the window as the train came to a stop.

There stood Hogwarts in all its glory, stars glittering and the moon shining brightly overhead it's large towers and illuminated corridors.

They left their compartment, following all the other students. Fred and Hermione looked at each other, having both seen the Thestrals pulling the carriages. Neither thought they'd see them again in this time, but they were wrong.

The horses stood proudly, the grey skin and bones still as prominent as ever, some already pulling the carriages with students.

A few seventh years looked at the younger children curiously, seeing them staring at where the death horses were exactly. "Excuse me. One of the Gryffindors nudged Hermione.

"Oh yes?" Hermione smiled as she looked at the brunette.

"Can you see them?"

"See what?" Hermione thought quickly. "What's pulling the carriages?"

"Oh, I thought you could see them too." The seventh year looked relieved. "Those are Thestra-"

"First years! Over 'ere!" The loud gruff voice of Hagrid boomed out, waving over the two first years.

"Have fun at the sorting." The seventh year hopped onto one of the carriages as Hermione and Fred waved goodbye to them.

Approaching Hagrid, he led them to the small boats. "Freddie! I'm joining you!" Bellatrix hopped into the boat beside her twin brother as Andromeda followed, less excitedly and sat beside Hermione.

"Andromeda Black." The brown haired witch offered her hand to Hermione to shake.

"Hermione Malfoy." She smiled as shook her hand. Making conversation, Hermione really pulled out anything. "What house are you hoping for?"

"Slytherin. The whole family goes there. You?" she smiled kindly as the boats began being tugged out over the lake, some students staring in awe at the castle. Knowing Malfoys were traditionally in Slytherin, Hermione answered the same. "Ooh~ We might be roommates." The two continued talking avidly about the school, Andromeda even brought up Hogwarts a History, which Hermione was immediately hooked to the Middle Black daughter.

* * *

"The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points.

At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Minerva McGonagall finished with a smile, still using her authoritarian voice.

Fred and Hermione sniggered in the very back of the group quietly. "I guess she says the same thing every year."

"Fred stop it." Hermione tried to laugh, Professor McGonagall looking straight at them had shut them up pretty quickly.

The large doors opened and Professor McGonagall led them to the front, passed the four tables adorning the House banners. Hermione could see her brother sitting at the Slytherin table, and Fred could see his old parents Molly and Arthur sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table talking to each other.

Bellatrix and Andromeda were discussing the hat and the houses, Bellatrix throwing rude comments about Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, but saying Ravenclaw wasn't too bad, Andromeda being more neutral but showing favour for Slytherin.

Soon enough, the names began being called and the hat began its annual sorting.

"Annabelle Abbott!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Andromeda Black!" The hat debated for a few moments before shouting

"Slytherin!"

"Bellatrix Black!" The hat barely touched her head, just as it had Draco.

"Slytherin!"

"Frederick Black!" The hat stayed on his had for a long 3 minutes before the hat hesitantly shouted.

"Slytherin!"

"Lydia Clark!"

Gryffindor!

"Cecilia Cooke!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Antonin Dolohov!"

"Slytherin!"

"Henry MacMillan!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Hermione Malfoy!" Hermione hopped onto the stool as Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. The entire Great Hall watched in anticipation to see which house Miss Malfoy would enter. Bets between Slytherin and Ravenclaw were being decided by Lucius in his seat.

_'Ah, you too have done this as well before. The same as Mr. Black, or should I say Mr. Weasley?'_ The hat's mumble was low, as to remain secretive. '_Perhaps I should put you back in Gryffindor You did well there. But you would also do well in Ravenclaw.'_

_'Slytherin._' Hermione told the hat in her head. _'Put me there. I want to be close to them.'_ The hat stayed quiet for a few moments before humming and shouting.

"Slytherin!" It seemed more like a hesitation as the hat was removed from her head and she ran to the Slytherin table, next to her brother, Fred and Dolohov.

"Rabastan Lestrange!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Alexander Smith!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Ted Tonks!"

"Hufflepuff"

"Anita Urquhart!"

"Slytherin!"

"Isabelle Yaxley!"

"Ravenclaw!"

The final student sat at her table, the Slytherins cheering the loudest for having the most new students.

In the year of 1966, the Slytherins had dominated the first years and became the largest house at Hogwarts, Hufflepuff taking second, Ravenclaw was third and Gryffindor sunk to the smallest house of the school, the first time in a dozen years. Horace Slughorn smiled at his new students while the other head of houses put on smiles to cover their slight disappointment about not having as many students as Slytherin.


	5. Chapter 5

For the sake of this story,Hermione, Fred and Bellatrix will be younger than Lucius. The years might not match up canonly, but do ignore that. They'll be kind of close to the canon year, but the major events will still happen canonically with the years they happen.

* * *

The night had been long for Hermione and she hadn't fallen asleep until the very early hours of the morning.

Sleeping in a foreign dorm, the woman who had tortured her almost to death was sleeping in the neighboring bed, the kind Andromeda Black in the bed on her other side.

Hermione and the two Black sisters shared a dorm with the second years girls whom didn't talk to them, but it certainly made up for the mostly empty room.

The class of 1966 had been one of the smallest due to being the generation born of those from Grindelwald's war. The generations to come would surely be bigger as it was then that the families decided to jump in numbers.

* * *

For Hermione and Fred, the halls were quite familiar and they remembered quite well all the secret passages that Fred had explored through the Marauders map, the map not even in existence yet.

Though in the Slytherin dorms, Hermione had encountered quite an interesting situation.

Bellatrix, whom she thought would have been extremely difficult to get along with, did not speak to her. She preferred to speak with Anita Urquhart, a tanned witch coming from Scotland. The girl had a strong Glasgow accent that made one of the other girls, Andromeda, giggle just a bit.

While Bellatrix was very vocal about her views in the Old Present, currently she rarely spoke of Blood Purity or Supremacy in Slytherin house. Here, she knew when to stop talking and when she should. Hermione rapidly found a few uncanny resemblances in character to herself, which made her a bit nervous. The night before, while the second year girls were having loud gossip sessions in the early hours of the morning, as Hermione was about to snap and tell them to sleep, Bellatrix had said exactly what Hermione wanted to say.

Hermione had mumbled a thank you and she had just hummed in response. Quite cold, Hermione deduced rather quickly.

The next morning, she had sat beside her brother at the Slytherin table for breakfast, his friends Rodolphus Lestrange and Cantankerus Nott around him as usual.

It hadn't taken long for Fred to get out of bed and come down to breakfast, Antonin Dolohov not too far behind him.

"Hermione, sleep well?" Fred had taken a seat next to Hermione that morning, an interested look in Lucius and Cantankerus's eyes as they watched the Heir and Lucius's little sister interact.

"Yea. It's different though. A good kind." She had casually said. "What about you? Who're your roommates?"

"Well, we first years sleep with the second years." Antonin waved as Fred pointed to him and Cantankerus. "We've got Nott, Dolohov, Rodolphus Lestrange, Malfoy and another guy but he doesn't talk much." He pointed down the table to where a second year had his head in a sketch pad.

"Doesn't seem to do much, that one." Nott added. "Always seen 'im sketching, but we don't know what."

"My roommates are Bellatrix, Andromeda and Anita Urquhart. We've got the second year girls too but they won't tell us their names."

"It's best you stay away from them then." Lucius advised. "If a Slytherin doesn't share their name with their own roommates, it's a sign of distrust and disloyalty."

"Disloyalty? Really?" Antonin laughed as he questioned the third year. "How?"

"Well, we in Slytherin are seen as the bad guys so as a fellow Snake, we watch each other's backs." Explained Lucius. "When someone refuses to tell you their name, they're not letting you in. We pride ourselves on camaraderie in our house. They're rejecting the idea and, in term, rejecting the members who want it as well."

"So, they don't show loyalty to Slytherin house then." deduced Fred. "Makes sense."

"Hey Cant, we've got a group of intelligent Firsties. Let's see how long it takes until one of them get on a Lion's bad side." One of the older students said.

"Pavel, leave them be." Nott talked back to the older one. Turning to the First years, he introduced them. "This is Pavel Parkinson. Fifth year and bane of our existence." The dark haired wizard whacked Cantankerus across the head with a piece of bacon. "Not the bacon man! I just washed my hair this morning!"

"Oh poor Cantankerus Nott with his greasy mess of hair." Pavel ruffled his hair teasingly, while Cantankerus did not seem to enjoy it very much. "It'd be nice if you put in the effort."

The older student left and Cantankerus passed his fingers through his hair, trying to flatten his brown-black hair against his head, but the thick strands stuck up in almost every direction, no matter how much he tried. "I get it from Grandmum side of the family Not my fault." He kept mumbling to himself, even using the knife as a mirror for his thick locks.

"His grandmother's family has hair that won't cooperate. Quite a show to watch every morning." Lucius told the first years. "He's like this every morning, cursing his mum's mum."

Seeing the confusion on multiple of the Heirs faces, Lucius sighed. "His grandmother was a Potter. Unruly hair, that lot. No matter what he or his mother do, their hair is all over the place." He pointed to the curled mess sitting on top of the second year's head. "He's got a little cousin or second cousin with the same problem. Not old enough for Hogwarts yet though."

Hermione sent a look to Fred, who nodded just enough for her to notice, but not anyone else. '_Maybe that's why Theo never did anything to Harry'_ Hermione wondered as she watched Cantankerus give up and pick up a muffin and chew it frustratingly.

"No more bacon in my hair? "Nott lowered his head for Rodolphus to stand and look over quickly.

"You're good." He sighed and returned to his breakfast.

"You firsties should head to class soon. Get a good look around the school so you won't get lost." Cantankerus tried to cover his mouth as he attempted to swallow a large piece of bread as he spoke. "There's always lost firsties in every House."

Fred, Hermione and Antonin all agreed and left the now empty plates on the table and dashed out down to the dungeons, Fred and Hermione almost going the wrong way by force of habit.

* * *

"Today, we shall be learning the Levitation charm, Wingardium Leviosa!" Professor Flitwick ecstatically announced. Fred and Hermione were seated beside each other, Antonin on Hermione's right, and Fred on her left. Bellatrix was seated on Fred s left and Andromeda was seated across the room. Due to her late arrival and the lack of available seats, she had to take a spot beside the Hufflepuffs.

"Now, just swish and flick your wand as you say, Wingardium Leviosa. Like this." The Charms professor demonstrated slowly with his own feather, careful not to fall off his stack of books, and levitated his feather. "Now try it."

Hermione leaned over to Fred and whispered silently. "Should we fake it or do it for real?" Fred answered the latter.

_"Wingardium Leviosa"_ They both said together, levitating their feathers with surprising ease.

"Mr. Black and Miss Malfoy have done it! 10 points each to Slytherin!" the Slytherins high fived each other quickly before they continued to attempt the spell.

"Mini, can you help me out?" Hermione raised a brow and tried to keep herself from smiling when she looked at Antonin in surprise.

"Did... Did you just call me Mini?" She asked him, trying not to grimace

Uh... Yea... Like a nickna- I can take it back if you want!"

"No, no, it's alright. It's different." She smiled, beginning to show her friend the wand motion and how to pronounce it properly. It was only when there was an explosion that everyone turned to Fred and Bellatrix.

"Quite explosive, she is." Antonin whispered to Hermione, who had to bite her tongue to avoid letting slip a laugh.

"Oh, we ll be great friends." Hermione mumbled, trying not to laugh as Bellatrix coughed, the smoke from the singed feather blowing in her face. Her hair seemed fine though, her thick curls not moving an inch. One by one, the students went back to their work, attempting to ignore the glares of death Bellatrix sent them.

* * *

Potions class had been surprisingly pleasant with Horace Slughorn. He was quite cheery and enjoyed talking or giving tips to his students, an opposite in many ways to Severus Snape.

Instead of throwing NEWT level questions on his students first thing in class, he actually gave proper safety precautions and kindly answered any questions his students had, whether it was about him or the class.

The block had been spent with the Teacher pulling out the most common potion ingredients and the tools they would use for brewing, such as the cauldrons, the grinder, and where the knives were. It had been more informative than Professor Snape s class had been, where he would simply give you the instruction and see if the student either sunk or swam.

Professor Slughorn kindly aided his students who had difficulty with either cutting or grinding some ingredients and showed them easier ways to do it, the same result if they had done it either way.

Hermione had been paired with Anita Urquhart, one of her roommates, and they showed each other different ways to use the ingredients and even wrote a few inches of parchment on the different forms and ways to use Asphodel. They'd quickly gotten started on the essay and had even arranged to study together later that night.

* * *

Though Potions had been amusing, lunch finally rolled by and Hermione sat by her brother again, Cantankerus still seated across and Pavel Parkinson a few seats down. Nott's hair had finally subdued itself a bit that morning, but the curls still stood up all over.

It reminded her of Harry's hair. The Potter hair had to have been an extremely dominant gene and it was most likely the reason Theodore Nott had always kept it cut short. No one needed to know he had unruly hair like the Chosen One. It was less work that way to cut it.

Hermione was quite thankful for her new hair she had gotten when she appeared in this time. Her locks were flowing and void of any untameable curls. It was straight, with a bit of wave near the bottom, longer than Lucius and she was quite proud of it. No more issues being called a literal lion or big ball of frizz. She had beautiful, platinum Malfoy hair. While she would never admit it out loud, she had always been jealous of Draco for having such nice hair.

"How was your first classes?" asked Lucius as his sister took a seat and a wedge of a sandwich.

"They were good." She took a bite of her lunch and chewed it for a few seconds. "Black and I got 10 points each in Charms."

"Now don't you go telling that to Prefect Yaxley." Cantankerus pointed down the table to a dark haired wizard who was a few inches shorter than his comrades. "Seventh year. Was pretty mad when he didn't get Headboy." Lucius and Cantankerus let out small laughs.

"Poor bloke. Still hoping to grow a few inches." Rodolphus let out a snort at his friend's words. "Too bad he got it from his mother. He's almost as tall as his sister in Ravenclaw. I think her name is Isabelle."

Standing beside a first year, Slytherin Prefect Corban Yaxley was barely 6 inches taller than the 11 year old. It seemed to be quite the running joke that it had been the primary reason he played seeker for Quidditch. Smaller meant more Aerodynamic, so they picked the smallest seventh year.

Hermione had heard the sixth and seventh years joking and leaning onto the Prefect as if he was a leaning post. She had expected the Prefect to deduct points, but he simply laughed along with them.

Slytherin House really did have each other's backs, from walking to classes, to even mocking the Prefect s height without fear of being deducted points. It felt much more welcoming than Gryffindor had at the time. It had taken Hermione a few months before she really felt like she fit in, and here she felt natural from day one.

The was the only element that frightened Hermione more than she needed at the moment was the fact that Bellatrix was still observing her with the mix of death and intrigue in her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Many weeks followed and many professors had been wow'ed by the young Black Heir and the Malfoy girl. It had been many, many years since they had had students like these two. They excelled in every single one of their classes.

One day, Professor McGonagall had been teaching the first years in Transfiguration and they had both made the same mistake, yet they didn't seem put down as she had experienced with so many other years. It felt like their mistake had been somehow staged. Coming from two very proficient magical families, she wasn't surprised that they had a firm grasp in their classes, but the sheer amount of classes with near perfect marks was surprising. Andromeda and Bellatrix were far from having the same level of grasp and Lucius had been proficient in Potions and charms, but lacked in Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn had one day found the single class that Miss Malfoy didn't excel in. Flying.

Later that day, they would stumble upon an interesting sight.

* * *

"Hermione, why didn't you tell me you disliked flying?" Fred had asked Hermione after they flying class.

"Well, I'm ashamed of it. What kind of witch can't fly?" She mumbled lowly as she entered the great hall for lunch. "I'm not like you, or George, or Charlie or Bill. I greatly dislike heights." She said in a whisper. She watched Fred raise a brow and look at her curiously.

"You re not the only one who hates flying." Fred told her. "My dad hated flying. It was mum who absolutely loved it." Hermione laughed at the image of Molly trying to get Arthur on a broom.

"Mini! Over here!" Antonin, a few seats down, waved them over to his area of the table.

"Mini? Since when is he calling you that? George and I used to call McGonag-" Fred snorted as Hermione slapped his arm. "Oh come on! I'm just playing." Hermione rolled her eyes as they approached their fellow snake.

"It's only a nickname Fred." She mumbled a few things under her breath, Fred laughing a bit. The two Slytherins sat cross Antonin at the table.

"How was flying class? Sorry I missed it." Antonin picked up a bowl and began taking a few pieces of meat from the platter in the center.

"Ah, Hermione didn't fly." Fred snickered beside her, earning another slap from Hermione on his arm. "Ow! Not so hard!"

"Then stop telling people I didn't fly." pouted Hermione. "Not everyone needs to know."

"Not a fan of heights?" Their friend asked curiously, covering his mouth to block their view of chewed up food.

"No. Lucius might play chaser in Quidditch, but it doesn't mean I like to fly." Hermione shoved a piece of fruit into her mouth and chewed.

"What's this I hear about you not liking flying?" Hermione and Fred jumped a bit in surprise at the deeper voice behind them. They both turned and saw Lucius with his books in his hands, smiling down at his sister.

"Oh... Yea... " Hermione tried to look away but her brother simply replaced himself in her line of vision.

"Want some help with it?" He asked her curiously. "You don't want to flunk it Do you?" Those words resonated in Hermione's soul. She would never flunk any class, Divination being the special exception. "Cant would love to help, Rodolphus too." At the mention of his two closest friends wanting to help, Hermione thought about it.

The three Slytherins played Quidditch for their house together. Lucius and Rodolphus were Chasers and Cantankerus played Keeper, which meant they obviously knew what they were doing on a broom, and she knew Fred would try for the team as soon as he was allowed to. Being a Beater had been imbedded in Fred s very being while he was at school and he hated not being able to play.

He was often found flying around the pitch, doing laps or even just watching how his new House played. The captain, a sixth year, had approached Fred one day and informed him that he could try out as soon as second year began, and if he was adamant enough on joining the team, be a reserve player in case of an incident for the current year.

Fred had shown his complete dedication for Quidditch and had secured himself a spot with the two other reserve players as a Beater. The captain was surprise just how knowledgeable he was and well trained for the position that he had allowed the Black Heir a spot barely hours after he had shown his skill.

Later that night Fred had finally told Hermione that he had became a reserve Beater and he seemed ecstatic about it.

Now he, too, was offering his help to teach her how to fly. Four Quidditch players were offering their help in teaching the young girl to fly.

"If we see you really don't like it, we'll stop." Lucius assured her. We won t force you into anything too advanced. Hermione groaned, reluctantly agreeing to the little help session.

That afternoon, the five Slytherins were at the pitch, each with their own brooms. Rodolphus and Lucius were flying around on their brooms, racing each other with a Quaffle while Cantankerus and Fred explained a few tips on overcoming her fears.

"Would you like to practice flying with me on mine? We'll hover around to get you used to the wind and the height." The Nott Heir told her. "I'll be with you on the broom so if anything happens, I'll take control." Hermione nodded anxiously, watching the broom and feeling her heart rate increase. She really didn't want to do this, but her fear of flunking a class the second time around was stronger.

Cantankerus sat on his broom and let it hover barely a foot off the ground, allowing Hermione to take a seat in front of him. "See, doing just fine." He told her. "I'm just going to put my hand around you here so I can take the handle if I need to."

Hermione was aware of every movement around her. She felt Nott's arm go loosely around her waist, despite his arm barely touching her, her mind stuck to the bit of contact.

Despite being physically 11 years old, her mind was still that of an adult. She knew this wasn't flirting or courting, but her mind kept annoyingly reminding her and informing her of the possibility at every possible time. She really wanted to curse her brain for the last few weeks.

"Now, just pull up. **Gently**." He told her, emphasizing on the last word. She pushed down one of her laughs and pulled up as softly as possible. "Yea. Just like that." Her arms were shaking as they slowly levitated off the ground. She pulled up a bit more and felt Cantankerus flinch at the surprise, but he stayed where he was nonetheless. "Perfect." He told her. "Want me to take control?" She nodded even before he could finish his sentence.

He removed his arm that was around her waist and took the broom as she let go. She looked up and saw her brother coming near her, Lucius coming to hover beside them, and Fred taking off with his broom from the ground.

"Who knows! Maybe she'll replace Seeker Yaxley!" Hermione looked back passed Cantankerus' head and saw Rodolphus flying overhead, body hanging off the broom upside down. Still firmly sat on his broom, he let it shaggy, sandy hair hang down.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Lucius laughed. "Let's start slow and we'll see from there."

* * *

Minerva McGonagall and Horace Slughorn watched, from the higher levels of the school, the group of Slytherins helping out their junior.

"And you said we don't work well together." Horace teased his comrade. "I think they'll make a fine group."

"Let's hope they don't go after the other houses. I would love for there to be peace this year." She said, frowning at the thought of how the other years would do exactly that.

"They'll be fine students." Horace reassured her.

* * *

"May I sit here?" Hermione asked the girl seated at the table.

Later that afternoon, after her impromptu flying lesson, Hermione decided she would go study in the library. The cool Autumn air had chilled her bones while she was on the broom and now all she wanted was the comfort of books around her.

Sitting at her usual table, was two Hufflepuffs, both in her year. One girl, blonde and blue eyed, was Annabelle Abbott, future aunt of Hannah Abbott. She was kind and resembled her future niece like two peas in a pod.

The boy was Alexander Smith, whom she first assumed might have been the father or an uncle of Zachariah Smith, also in Hufflepuff in the old present, but his apparent lack of knowledge of the Wizarding World had made Hermione assume he was either half or Muggleborn, contrary to Zachariah Smith who had been a Pureblood.

The two looked up to her in surprise and almost scrambled to get their books out of the way. "Oh I'm sorry. We didn't realise this was your table." Annabelle stuttered, getting ready to pick up her books.

"It's not my table. I'm just wondering if I can sit with you." Hermione said softly, letting the girl place her books back down. "You both seem nice."

This little compliment seemed to catch the two off guard as they turned pink and laughed nervously. "Er... Thank you Miss Malfoy." Annabelle smiled, trying to fix her hair behind her shoulder. "Of course you can sit with us." Hermione gratefully took a seat in front of the two Hufflepuffs who looked almost hesitant to speak with her.

"If... If you don't mind me asking... But why is a Malfoy such as yourself sitting with us?" Alexander asked carefully.

"Well, I wish to make friends in Houses other than my own." Hermione answered simply. "You both seemed nice."

"N-no other reason?" Annabelle raised a brow, a bit suspicious. It was no secret that some Slytherins purposefully pretended to want to be friends only to stab some in the back once their trust earned.

"Nope." She popped the p.

"And you don't care I'm Muggleborn?" Alexander lowered his voice to a secretive tone.

"Your blood status hadn't even cross my mind, Smith." Hermione smiled. This greatly surprised Annabelle, who knew how the Malfoys were concerning Blood supremacy. Seeing this, Hermione continued. "I don't care much for blood status." This seemed to make them relax.

"Well, thank you." Alexander thanked her. He seemed to relax his entire body before introducing himself. "I'm Alexander, but everyone calls me Alex."

"Annabelle." They both shook hands with Hermione with bright smiles.

"Hermione." She answered back as she let go of their hands and opened her books. "Now, what are you both reading?" she asked them curiously.

Alex immediately started talking about their subject of study and Hermione's interest was peaked. Comfort and Healing spells. Alex happily discussed how the older Puffs loved to share spells to help make the others feel more at home with each other. It didn't surprise Hermione very much to find out that the elder students helped the younger ones.

It wasn t until they started to do their homework that they were approached by a Gryffindor Prefect.

"This Slytherin isn't bothering you, is she?" A female voice asked. Hermione turned and froze when she saw the eyes that she had grown up around for six years.

"No, Prefect Prewett. Miss Malfoy is just studying with us." Alex covered for them. "She's not bothering us in the slightest."

Hermione watched Molly's expression become sour and filled with doubt at the two Hufflepuffs words. Hermione had never seen that expression directed towards her, and it hurt more than the time during her fourth year with the articles from Rita Skeeter. "Oh really? Miss Malfoy, you say?" She said, skepticism coating her words thickly. "From Slytherin?"

"Yes, from Slytherin, Prefect Prewett." Hermione answered her. "I am indeed in Slytherin. It wouldn't cause a problem, would it, Miss?" she asked her, keeping her tone even as Molly narrowed her eyes suspiciously before turning back to the two hufflepuffs.

"Be cautious around the Slytherins. You never know if it's a ruse." Molly sneered at Hermione and ignored the expressions directed at her. "Good day."

As she left, Hermione heard Annabelle grumble. Confused, she asked her to speak louder. "She's prejudiced. I hate it." Annabelle no longer looked like the kind girl she was a few minutes before. "She's clearly prejudiced against Slytherins and it drives me mad."

Hermione understood where Annabelle and Alex were coming from with the prejudice. No matter what, everyone was prejudiced one way or another, whether it was against another House, blood status or even name. Even Molly Prewett, soon-to-be Weasley, was prejudiced. Hermione knew back in the Old Present that she was, but she hadn't known to what extent. She had to tell Fred about that. No doubt he knew, having lived with her for his literal entire life. It was no longer a secret how Ron came to be with his attitude towards any Slytherin.

The question now, was if Arthur Weasley was as prejudiced in this time as he was before. No doubt he was a bit with the way he behaved around Lucius in the Old Present. Hermione wondered just how he d react to her, seeing as she was a Malfoy now.

* * *

That night, at dinner, Hermione constantly felt the eyes of the female Gryffindor prefect on her back as she ate. Fred, across from her at the table, couldn't help but notice her discomfort. Lucius had caught on to the rumour mill that one of the prefects had bugged his sister but he hadn't done anything due to the lack of names.

"You look uncomfortable." Fred noted, pushing a piece of beef onto his place.

"It's nothing."

"Lucius isn't the only one who listens to rumours, you know." Fred chewed a piece of food. "Which prefect bothered you?" Hermione sighed before leaning into the table and whispering very lightly to Fred, who had also leaned in.

"Your mother," Hermione watched in interest as Fred's eyes grew wide like saucers. "She's incredibly prejudiced against Slytherins." she informed him.

"Sounds about right." Fred chuckled. "I would never in eternity say it to her face but she is, whether she want to admit to it or not." Hermione picked up a bun and chewed it. "Dad was more discreet about it though. Most people wouldn't be able to tell unless they knew him well."

"I wouldn't think you'd just say it out there." Hermione laughed. "I'd have thought you knew better."

"Oh, I do know better!" He said, raising his voice a bit as he attempted to contain his laughter. He lowered his voice once again and stopped laughing. "Since I'm no longer a... You know..." He subtly pointed in the Gryffindors direction, implying his old family name. "I can say whatever I want without having them breathing down my neck." He wore his signature grin. "Within reason, of course."

"You'll still be careful, won't you?" Hermione raised a brow, a smile growing slowly on her lips.

"Of course I will. Now finish up, I have something to show you." As he told her this, Bellatrix came and sat down primly beside her twin, sticking closely by his side.

"Freddie!" She greeted him happily. "I haven't seen you all day!" she looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response. It was Saturday so they had been allowed to roam the halls freely. "Where have you been?"

"Ah, Bella, I've been at the pitch."

"All day?" Hermione didn't know how to classify the look in Bellatrix's eyes. It seemed to be a mix of disbelief, exasperation and adoration all at the same time. "I'd have kept you company. You just need to say the word." Bellatrix sat closer to Fred and ate her dinner.

"What have you been doing all day, Bellatrix?" Fred asked her, Hermione just watching as the two siblings interacted.

"With Urquhart in the courtyard." She said. "But we didn't see Miss Malfoy anywhere today." Bellatrix looked to Hermione, an expectant look directed straight to her. It wasn't a happy expression, nor was it a angry one. "So, where were you?"

"I was in the library." Hermione mumbled, trying to look away from the intense stare from her dark eyes.

"A book lover. Like Cissa." Bellatrix pursed her lips and looked back to Fred. "Tomorrow, we should do something together."

"Perhaps another time, I have Homework to do." Fred told Bellatrix, Hermione tried not to smile at the pain she saw in Fred's eyes from the words he spoke.

"Malfoy! We can done something together then! How about it?" Bellatrix almost jumped over the table into Hermione's face as she asked/shouted at her. She almost fell off the bench to avoid the dark curls from hitting her in the face.

"I... er... Had plans with a few other friends." Hermione mumbled. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and back off onto her seat and observed Hermione for a few more seconds.

"Introduce me then." Bellatrix let crack a small smile, one that made Hermione uneasy and Fred could see it in her eyes. He almost snorted as Bellatrix continued "I'll play nice."

Hermione simply blinked. Introducing Bellatrix to two Hufflepuffs seemed bad enough, but to learn that one of them was Muggleborn and both despised blood supremacy with a passion would be a downright nightmare. She had seen it that morning when Molly had shown up, she couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like if Bellatrix of all people was there.

"Perhaps another time." Hermione told Bellatrix, who let out some sort of noise from her throat, one that was probably along the lines of disappointment but Hermione was sure she was hearing things.

"I'll see if I'm busy tomorrow. Andromeda, you and I could do something together." Fred distracted Bellatrix from Hermione, who was shifting uncomfortably from Bellatrix's undivided attention that stayed on Hermione.

It took another long moment of silence and Bellatrix staring straight into Hermione s eyes before she smiled and almost jumped Fred. "Alright!"

She happily skipped away, leaving her half-eaten dinner there.

"Well, I guess I have plans tomorrow."

"Anything to get away from homework, eh Fred?" Hermione shook her head in disappointment while trying not to smile, Fred shrugging his shoulders with a look of satisfaction. The two finished their food and left the hall together.

* * *

That night, while Andromeda roamed the school halls after curfew for some fresh air, wanting something different than the humid atmosphere down in the dungeons, something else was happening in the first and second year's dorms.

Hermione had been relaxing on her bed, a thick defense tome laid out on her comfortable green blankets, and smiling to herself as she read the many details in the pages. She wouldn't need to read this particular book until much later, probably third or fourth year, but she had read so many books in the library, and she hadn't read this one yet.

Hermione felt at peace in her little world, surrounded by words on the pages, quills and little rolls of parchments with her notes on them. The only thing that could ruin her perfect world at that moment, was the door opening abruptly before being slammed shut, rapid footsteps of one Bellatrix Black approaching.

"Drop your books. We're going to have a chat." She told her standing in front of the other first years bed. "Girl-to-girl." At those words, she rapidly moved her books into a stack and placed them on her nightstand. Hermione hadn't even realised it, but the words Bellatrix had just spoken had caused Hermione to shake a bit, an unpleasant memory resurfacing with a small, almost unnoticeable physical reaction.

"What do you wish to talk about?" asked Hermione carefully, trying to hide her shaking as best she could from the eldest Black daughter.

"This." She motioned to her shaking. "You don't talk to me, if you do you shake like a leaf. You don't look at me, if you do it's only when you need to, and I haven't done a single thing to you." Bellatrix crossed her arms expectantly. "I don't understand why."

Hermione wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to that. It wasn't as if she hadn't asked some sort of question. She wanted an explanation. She wanted an explanation Hermione couldn't give her.

"Is it that you've no backbone?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.

"No! I most certainly do have one!"

"Other Houses coming after you?" A threatening tone seemed to be hidden in her voice. "I'll take care of the-"

"No! The other Houses haven't done a thing!"

"Then what is it? Tell me!" Her straightforward and harsh words that came out as a demand made Hermione flinch. Bellatrix took a step back at the noticeable reaction

Hermione seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking up. "Can I ask you something?" Bellatrix nodded almost immediately. She was not a patient person and it was evident, but she could be more lenient depending on the person and she had come to learn that over the last few weeks. "Why do you want to know?" A few moments passed as Bellatrix stared at Hermione. She now thought that it had been a horrible idea to ask her that of all things. Making her justify her actions now seemed like a horrible idea. But she never expected the answer that she gave.

"Well, you're evidently powerful, for one." she began. "And my brother obviously has a liking to you which means you're trustworthy," At the mention of Fred, Bellatrix's face lit up with happiness, much like when Ginny would hear that Bill or Charlie was coming home. Hermione deduced that this had to have been before the insanity started. "Andromeda and everyone else seem to enjoy your company," Bellatrix paused for a second, which Hermione wondered if it was actually hesitation. "And I wonder why I don't get the same. I've not done a single thing to you, not that I know of."

"Well... The reasoning is quite personal and I haven't told Lucius about it... But perhaps we could start by being friends." Hermione hesitantly said. Bellatrix seemed to think it over for a few moments before nodding in agreement.

"Sounds alright to me." She said, extending a hand. "From the beginning, then?"

"Hermione Malfoy. A pleasure to meet you." Hermione took Bellatrix's hand.

"Bellatrix Black. And a pleasure to meet you as well." the two girls smiled and shook their hands.

The next morning, many of the first and second years were surprised to see Hermione Malfoy and Bellatrix Black talking avidly together as if they had been friends since the start of the year. And as planned, they both hung out with Andromeda and Fred, Antonin joining them halfway through the day after serving his detention.


	7. Chapter 7

It was much colder than everyone had initially thought upon waking up in the dungeons. The windows that usually emitted a gentle green glow from the sun light, was much darker today. The sun struggled to send light into the common room and the lake had began frosting.

It wasn't until Pavel Parkinson came into the dungeon very early, snowballs charmed to stay cold hidden away in his pocket, that everyone realised it had snowed heavily that night. Cantankerus had been the first victim to said snowballs being shoved down his back through his shirt.

Sadly, he had still been sleeping at the time and many people woke to a very girlish shriek, and Cantankerus trying to take his shirt off to rid himself of the frozen snow as the Parkinson Heir was on the ground shaking from laughter. Lucius had narrowly avoided the same surprise that morning thanks to the girlish shriek.

The Slytherins were awake well before the three other Houses and were already outside, warming charms being used on everyone, and the cloaks and scarfs all out in use. The courtyard quickly filled up with students throwing snowball at each other while some built forts and snowmen. Even Professor Slughorn had come up from the dungeons to watch them outside.

"Hey Cant!" The messy haired wizard turned around, only to be pelted in the face by bewitched snowballs. Wiping the snow off his tanned skin, the recipients of the snowballs had been Pavel and Lucius. A snowball fight had rapidly began, the first years quickly choosing sides along with the second, third and fourth years. Hermione and Bellatrix took the side of Lucius and Fred, Andromeda finding herself on the other team with Anita Urquhart and a few older students like Pavel and Corban Yaxley.

Once the sun had peaked over the horizon, a group of Hufflepuff students joined the fray and split up into the two teams, hurriedly building stronger walls and more impressive forts to ward off unfriendly snowballs.

Hermione found herself with Annabelle Abbott bombarding the Slytherin Prefect and Alexander Smith trying to hit Fred with snowballs. Hermione even saw the Head Girl, also a Hufflepuff, call out Prefect Yaxley from his hiding spot momentarily to launch a snowman-sized snowball at him with her wand.

Professor Sprout and Professor Slughorn eventually called the students back into the school so they could go and eat a warm breakfast, having done a hard battle in the snow filled courtyard. Entering the Great Hall, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors watched the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, all still covered in snow with their cloaks and scarfs around them, avidly talking about a rematch for snowball fight.

* * *

Fred and Hermione sat at the end of the table, away from others as they happily sipped their boiling hot cocoa.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get to have fun like that in the Old Present." Hermione said, taking a marshmallow from the center of the table and popping into the steaming cup. "It would have been legendary."

"Just wait. I heard the Head Girl talking to Sprout and Slughorn about organising a match." Fred muttered. "Imagine Slytherin and Gryffindor going head-to-head. Now THAT would be legendary."

"I believe Hufflepuff vs Slytherin would be better." Hermione countered, taking a along sip.

"I think you're a bit delusional."

"And I think you're wrong."

Antonin and Bellatrix came and took seats beside them, Bellatrix having finally unfrozen her curls from their semi-permanent state of an even messier disaster. Hermione remembered what the snow would do to her hair, freezing strands to go in every direction and stay that way for hours. She could only imagine what Bellatrix's hair would do.

"Who's wrong about what?" Antonin asked curiously.

"Oh Frederick here thinks that Gryffindor vs Slytherin in a snowball fight is more exciting than Hufflepuff vs Slytherin." Hermione claimed, sending a look to Fred.

"Hufflepuff and Slytherin? Oh that's a dangerous combination." Antonin agreed with Hermione. "Gryffindor vs Slytherin would never reach that level."

"How do you figure?" Bellatrix challenged the two first years. "Gryffindors are too honour bound to lose against us. Of course, they never could lose against us."

"Hufflepuffs are hard workers. We'd never give up so easily." Bellatrix and Antonin turned and saw the blonde Hufflepuff, Annabelle Abbott, standing there, having interrupted the conversation. "I apologise for intruding."

"Explain your view." Bellatrix gave a pointed view. "Convince me, Puff."

Annabelle smiled and took a seat, earning a few curious glances from other students. "Gladly. Hufflepuffs are hardworking. We value dedication, and between us, we have the better teamwork if you observe the Lions and Badgers closely." To this, everyone nodded in agreement to the hidden diss. "Gryffindors would rather prove their point yes, but their teamwork is too unbalanced. They're known to lack the patience and thought, and jump head straight into battle. We Puffs are patient. We wait for the right time to strike and we don't use cheap methods to do so."

"Well said Puff." Bellatrix nodded, her lips remaining pursed. "You make a very valid point." Everyone looked at the two Purebloods watching each other, one with a kind smile, the other a calculating look. "What's your name."

"Annabelle Abbot." the dark haired witch narrowed her eyes, thinking over many things before promptly nodding.

"Intelligent. I like you."

At that moment, Fred and Hermione had the same thought. _'Did Bellatrix... Just compliment and acknowledge a Hufflepuff?'_

"The same to you, Miss Black." Annabelle extended a hand. "Perhaps we can be acquaintances?" Bellatrix looked at her hand for a few seconds before pushing it down with her own.

"Don't get hasty there." She mumbled.

'_Ah. There it is_.' Hermione immediately thought, stifling her laughing with a piece of toast.

"Alright. I'll see you around." she waved them goodbye before rejoining her own table, the puffs looking at their comrade in shock and surprise as the Slytherins returned to their meals.

* * *

Later that night, as the temperature dropped in the dungeons, some of the Slytherin prefects had brought hot cocoa from the kitchens in secret to help warm up the rest of the house.

While he wouldn t admit to it, Yaxley had somehow brought in marshmallows and left them hidden around the common room, eliciting positive reactions from most Halfbloods who found them.

Some of the younger Purebloods had found the gooey white confectionery to be intriguing and imitated those who plopped them into their hot cocoas.

Hermione enjoyed her's near the fire with Andromeda and Anita, each wrapped in their cloaks as they warmed themselves. Another half hour until curfew and they would go to bed. Despite the amount of exercise they did that day in the snow, no one was feeling tired in the least.

One by one, as the curfew approached, student after student went back to their dorms or the bathroom to get ready for bed. Hermione had moved one of the couches closer to the fire to get comfortable instead of sitting on the stony floor.

Feeling the couch dip, she looked over and saw the dark curls of Bellatrix. She was in her pyjamas just like Hermione was. The soft green glow from the windows and the lanterns set a comfortable moods for the remaining snakes in the common room who were either reading or talking in whispers amongst themselves.

"Are you going home for Yule?" she asked.

"Yea. Lucius says he has a surprise for me that he can't bring to Hogwarts." Hermione smiled. "What about you?"

"I suppose. Unless Andromeda or Freddie decide to stay here, I'm going home." Bellatrix never took her eyes off the flames of the fireplace, a frown on her face.

"You don't seem excited to be going home." Hermione said. "Don't want to?"

"Why would I? Father just wants to speak to me about potential marriage arrangements." Hermione pursed her lips at her friend's words. She made a valid point. What 12 year old wanted to hear about that?

"Want to come over for part of the holiday?" offered Hermione. "We could always have more girls over at the manor. It's only ever mother and I with all our male relatives around."

"It's an intriguing offer. Your parents wouldn't mind?"

"I don't think so. As long as I ask beforehand, they're rarely say no. You could always bring over Andromeda and Fred too."

"I'll think about it." Bellatrix told Hermione as she stood up and wrapped her cloak into her arms and left to the dorms.

* * *

A few days later, early in the morning, hermione found herself sitting in a compartment with Lucius, Antonin, Cantankerus and Rodolphus, all of them asleep. The Boys were all extremely tired that morning, mostly from celebrating all night and hermione took the opportunity to read quietly next to the window.

Looking up from her textbook, she caught sight of her Hufflepuff friend Alex. He was smiling and waving to follow him. Hermione carefully stood up, cautious as not to wake up Cantankerus, whom was sleeping with his head on her shoulder, and Rodolphus, who had ended up sleeping on the floor, something that was a habit of theirs.

She placed her book on the bench and exit the compartment, following the Hufflepuff back to his. He opened the door and Annabelle was sitting there with a darker boy whom she remembered was in Ravenclaw.

"Hermione, this is Shacklebolt! He's in Ravenclaw!" Annabelle introduced her friend. "He's in our year!"

The boy waved and moved his bag to make some space for Hermione. "I'm Kingsley, you are Miss Hermione Malfoy?" He cocked an eyebrow. Hermione nodded happily.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kingsley."

"Likewise Hermione," as she and the Ravenclaw conversed, Annabelle took out a deck of Exploding Snaps.

"Who wants to play against the Queen of Exploding Snaps?" Annabelle gloated and taunted as she waved the cards teasingly at everyone.

"I'll take the opportunity to dethrone her." Kingsley took out his wand and laid out the cards.

"I'm playing too!" Alex and Hermione both took out their wands as well as Annabelle got ready to begin the game.

* * *

"Lucius~ Lulu~ Lucious~ Luce~ Lucy~ Lucyyyy~" Lucius woke up with Cantankerus poking his arm annoyingly, a grin on his face. "Finally."

"What?" Lucius groggily sat up in his seat.

"Where did your sister go?" Lucius looked around and saw her book in the place of where his sister had been sitting before having disappeared.

"She probably went to find the Blacks. Always find her with one of them." He told his friend as they woke up Rodolphus from his deep slumber on the cold wooden floor.

"Frederick hasn't seen her and neither has Bellatrix. They're in the same compartment together." Cantankerus said. "And we're almost at the station."

"Let's go find them then." Lucius stood up and kicked Rodolphus arm. "Get up Ru." Rodolphus groggily lifted his head, his dark black eyes looking tiredly at Lucius and rolling, he stood up and yawned.

"I'll just stay here." He laid down on the free seat and even took Hermione's discarded book as a pillow. "Guard our belongins."

Lucius and Cantankerus nodded their heads and left the compartment, before snickering. "I'd definitely leave my fortune with him."

Cantankerus burst out laughing as they walked along the compartments, looking into the windows to see if the younger Malfoy was anywhere. After a couple dozen, they finally found her with two Hufflepuffs and a Ravenclaw, all concentrating on a game of Exploding Snaps. They stood there for a few seconds, observing the skills.

"They're quite good." Cantankerus commented. "None of them is letting up."

"Not as good as us." Lucius commented back. They both waited until there was no more cards on their table before opening the door, surprising all four of them.

Lucius quickly noted how one of the Hufflepuffs froze and his sister started paling. "Care to introduce me to your friends, Hermione?" he spoke up, looking at the three others with interest.

She cleared her throat and introduced her friends. "This is Kingsley Shacklebolt, Ravenclaw, that is Annabelle Abbott, Hufflepuff and finally, Alexander Smith, Hufflepuff." She said.

"Blood statuses?" The two Hufflepuffs visibly tensed at the words they so hated.

"Pureblood, Pureblood and Muggleborn." She almost whispered when she got to Alex.

"Muggleborn you say?" Cantankerus finally said something. Interesting. He held a straight face as he assessed the male Hufflepuff.

"If you have something to say, then say it Cantankerus." Hermione told him, tearing his eyes away from the Hufflepuff.

"Not from the Elgyn Smiths, are you?" he asked curiously. "Pureblood family after all."

"Um... No, Heir Nott. My parents are Muggles. We're not from Scotland." Alex answered.

"Well, you play Snaps like you've played your whole life." Hermione and Hannah's eyes widened at the compliment. "I challenge thee to a Snaps duel!" Lucius rolled his eyes and sent him a glare. "I mean... A game of Snaps..."

"Oh..." Alex blushed a bit. "Alright!" Everyone quickly made space for the two older Slytherin students, Lucius sitting beside his sister and watching Cantankerus challenge the first year Muggleborn.

Lucius seemed to be observing all the other students, his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other. Hermione could tell he was simply waiting for Cantankerus, but she knew that he would be waiting for a long time.

* * *

The train finally came to a stop in King s Cross and Cantankerus and Alex had to abandon their game. Everyone left their compartments and began exiting the train, parents eagerly hugging the children they hadn't seen since September.

Lucius went to fetch Hermione's luggage, while Hermione was being engulfed in the tightest hug she'd ever been in.

"Welcome home dear!" Her mother exclaimed happily, still hugging her daughter. "We've missed you so much!" Her father simply hummed in agreement.

"Hermione!" Her mother let her go, turning and seeing Fred with his luggage beside his three sisters.

"Is that Heir Black?" Her mother asked her. "Let's go and greet them." Her mother and father followed Hermione to the Blacks. There, was Druella and Cygnus Black with their children. Narcissa was latched onto Fred's side with an excited grin.

"Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy," the two Blacks greeted them with a head dip. "How wonderful to see you again."

"Likewise Lord Black and Lady Black." Abraxas smiled faintly. "It seems our children have become friends." He pointed to Fred, Hermione and Bellatrix who were all talking avidly to the side.

"Indeed they have." Cygnus' lips formed a straight line. "Indeed they have..."

"Perhaps we could organise a get-together for the children over break?" Alexandra Malfoy suggested. "We can catch up on and talk of future parties."

"I agree." Druella curtly smiled. "That would be most pleasant."

"Do have a good trip home." Alexandra finished. "Lucius, Hermione, time to go."

"Yes Mother." The two siblings said together, placing the last bag on the trolley their father had fetched for them before getting off the train.

"Don't forget to write us." Narcissa told Hermione as she turned to leave.

"Narcissa. Shh." Druella harshly shushed her youngest. "You're too loud." She quickly apologised but repeated herself in almost a whisper.

"Of course, Miss Black." Hermione winked as she followed her brother and parents.

"Narcissa, come!" Narcissa quickly ran to catch up to her mother and three other siblings who were about to cross the barrier.

"Freddie! Freddie! Who was that?" Narcissa had begun bugging Fred the moment they had arrived back at Grimmauld Place that afternoon. He hadn't even taken off his coat when she began questioning him.

"She's Bella and Andy's roommate," Fred told her, just wanting to flop down on his bed and take a nap. "She's one of my friends, Narcissa."

"Oh alright." Narcissa pouted as she helped Fred lug his baggage up to his room. "Can she be my friend too? She seems nice. If Trixy and Andy like her, then I will too," She beamed. "And you like her so she'll be sure to like me too." Her determination that shone brightly in her gray eyes made Fred chuckle.

"I'm sure she will. Go find a day on the planner and I'll be sure to pass along the message that you want to meet her." Narcissa nodded ecstatically and ran out of the room, most likely off to find a calendar of some sort.

"You could never invite her." Bellatrix stated, coming into the room. "Not unless you want mummy and daddy to have the wrong idea." She began humming and did a little slow spin. "And not unless you want them to hear distant wedding bells!" She laughed.

Fred rolled his eyes at his sister s antics. "I'm allowed to have female friends."

"Of course, and I have no problem with that. My friends are boys too." Bellatrix opened the door. "But I'm not inviting any over, am I? I'll invite Malfoy for you, and you can invite my friends for me. That way, we can avoid marriage talk until later."

"That sounds pretty good. We should do that."

"I don't want to hear any of that until I'm at least in third year."

"Me neither."


	8. Chapter 8

The 25th of December had finally arrived and everyone in the Manor was in a frenzy. The House Elfs could be found on every level of the ancestral home and multiple in the kitchen getting the food ready for the day and cleaning everyone so not a single speck of dust could be felt or seen.

"We're going to make you exquisite, dear." Alexandra smiled at her daughter as she sat down behind Hermione in front of her vanity mirror. "I've gotten you a new dress and you should be able to find it in the closet. A beautiful midnight blue."

"When is grandfather arriving?" Hermione asked as she handed her hairbrush off to her mother's gentle hands.

"Some time in the afternoon. You know how he loves to surprise us." her tone changed a bit before letting out a laugh. "Grandfather Septimus has been in a bit of a confusing mood the last few weeks. If he says something that makes no sense, go with it. He's losing it bit after bit every day." Hermione nodded at her mother's advice.

Septimus Brutus Malfoy was the current head of the Malfoy family. His snowy white hair hadn't changed in the last century of his life, and his cold grey eyes remained the same sharpness they held for as long. Hermione and Lucius didn't see him often, mostly only at their birthdays and Yule, seeing as it was getting harder to move the 112 year-old Head of the Family from his main residence to that of his descendants. Recently in and out of illness, the healers informed Abraxas and Alexandra Malfoy that he would likely pass in the next 10 years if he was lucky. The man was older than the Headmaster after all, whom was in his 80s. Today, he was as healthy as a horse. Yesterday, he couldn't get out of bed. It was truly strange for the entire family.

Weaving her fingers through Hermione's waist-length hair, she had began by making a long complicated plait using five strands of the snowy hair. "But do keep in mind that his sight is weakening with the years. Nothing too bright."

Hermione kept on nodding as her mother went on with things not to do around her grandfather until there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Her mother called out. The door opened and Lucius popped his head into the room. "Lucius, dear. Did you need something?"

"Father sent me. Grandfather is to arrive in the next few minutes." Hermione's mother tied off the end and stood up to leave the room, Lucius taking her place and continuing with his sister's hair. "Why mother..." He mumbled as he took a hold of the complicated plait.

"Four or five strands?" Hermione asked.

"It seems to be five," He mumbled, taking the hair tie off and strapping it his wrist. "Always the complicated hairdos." His fingers continued the long plait.

"All you need to do is tie it up and you're fine. Perhaps mother should start plaiting your hair as well."

"I would sooner cut it off than let her do that." Hermione let out a laugh before feeling a stinging in the back of her head.

"Don't pull."

"Don't laugh." there was a moment before the two couldn't hold in their laughter. "Alright, laugh for now." he told her as he finished the plat and tied it off. "Up or down?"

"Up please." she felt her braid be twisted and tied into a low hanging bun, sitting right at the nape of her head.

"Pins." He opened his hand and Hermione passed him a few. "If only magic could hold your hair in place, this would make my job much easier." Hermione shrugged as she felt one poked her head. "Stop moving or I'll pull again." She finally sat still like a statue as he inserted pin after pin and pushing the smaller stray hairs into the bun.

In the Old Present, Hermione couldn't even imagine being related to the Malfoys in anyway, much less having Lucius as family. She didn't have any siblings in the old time, and she very much wanted a brother or a sister, but her parents had then recounted to her the old legend in the family saying that someone had cursed her ancestor to only have one child, a daughter.

Now that she had the Malfoys as a family, it wasn't as bad as it seemed from an outsider's point of view. She had assumed they would be harsh and thought her parents would be as stiff as boards and wouldn't look at her, but she was wrong. Alexandra Malfoy was very similar to Hermione's old mother, Jane Granger. Vibrant, energetic but not too much, she loved to talk to her children. While Abraxas wasn't like Daniel Granger at all, he showed his own family affections in different ways. Hiding a new book for her in unsuspecting places, her favourite places, at random moments of the day, telling her of the new things he read in a book he had bought with her or even putting a hand on her shoulder, it was his way of showing it and Hermione took them to heart. Abraxas wasn't a very touchy person. He very rarely was touching anyone, even his wife, in public or even at home, but the hand on the shoulder spoke volumes to her and Lucius. Pride, affection, and protection. Those were what they conveyed in their simplest form.

The few memories of her grandfather that she had, she couldn't tell very much about him. A quiet old man who only spoke at the right time, Septimus Malfoy was a very secretive man. She remembered receiving a necklace with a sapphire as the centerpiece of the jewelry for her 10th birthday, but apart from that, it was glimpses of his appearances at birthdays or Christmas.

A small crack resounded in the room, making Lucius jab Hermione's head accidentally with a pin. "Oops." Was all he said as he fixed it.

"Missy Malfoy, Master Malfoy, yous grandfather is here." The elf informed them.

"Thank you Mipsy." Hermione smiled as the elf disapparated.

"Right on time." Lucius took a hand mirror from the vanity table and showed her the back of her head.

"It's perfect. Thank you." As they stood up, an owl began pecking on the window. A jetblack owl held two small letters and a package in his claws. Lucius dug into his pocket and took out a small velvet pouch and threw a small treat for the bird who immediately flew off, leaving the letters and package.

Hermione took the letters and read the names, passing the one addressed to her brother to Lucius and kept the other. She removed the wax seal and unfolded the paper and read it in her head.

* * *

_Happy Yule Hermione Malfoy,_  
_Or should I address the letter to Miss Malfoy? Too formal? Yeah, I thought so too. Mother won't stop getting on my case about formalities and why I should use them, but I don't see the use. I prefer using your name instead of your family name. Calling you Malfoy is still so bizarre and it doesn't feel right. Father isn't as forceful about the formalities but he still likes to remind me at every possible occasion._

_This is a Christmas letter so I do have to send you good wishes. I hope you have a good holiday with lil' Lucy (Brilliant right?) and the large empty manor that has caused you so many nightmares._

_You probably don't need to know this, but Bellatrix wouldn't stop looking over my shoulder while I was writing this. She's probably thinking I'm writing you some rubbish like a billet-doux or something. See, I can use fancy words too. Oh, now she's looking at me weird again._

_Have I told you that Narcissa won't stop asking me questions about you? If she's not asking me, she's going to Bellatrix. The moment she found out that you and Andromeda weren't as close, she left her alone and came after Bella and I. An odd one she is. She really wants you to come and visit. She thinks you're going to absolutely love her so please pretend or actually love her. I find myself unable to make her upset. I swear, it's like Ginny all over again. Narcissa has got us all wrapped around her finger, well... All of us except Mother._

_I told Narcissa to write a piece of parchment with questions she wanted to ask you in case you couldn't come and visit. She's penning it out as I'm writing and as I heard from Bellatrix who just got back, it seems to look like an essay at the moment. Have fun answering those. Now Bellatrix wants to write so I'm off. Toodles Happy Christmas, Frederick Black._

* * *

She folded up Fred's letter and continued reading the next one, letting out a small laugh at the opened of the second.

* * *

_Greetings dearest roommates!_  
_I apologise in advance for my twin's lack of social respect and his apparent lack of formalities. I suppose social grace only goes down the female side of the family. And I have not been looking over his shoulder, I was quietly observing his writing techniques and assuring he was proper in his writings. I have come to the conclusion that he lacks those as well. It's no surprise his work at school is so sloppy, I'm sure you are aware._

_I've began corresponding with the Hufflepuff girl, Miss Abbott. She sent a letter a few days before and now I've found myself constantly answering her four-page letters every two days. Just do not tell Mother. She has quite the grudge against the Badger House of cuddles and camaraderie and she doesn't seem to want to tell me why._

_I'm sure Freddie has already mentioned Narcissa wishing you to come and pay us a visit, so I formally invite you to come to 12 Grimmauld Place sometime during this fortnight before we return to Hogwarts. Write me a possible date and I shall inform my parents. Freddie wanted to send the invitation, but fortunately for you, you have me to keep him in check. A simple reminder of mother's want of wedding bells was enough to make him shut his trap instantly._

_Have an excellent Yule and enjoy answering Cissa's kilometer-long inquiry._  
_Your absolute best friend, Bellatrix Black._

* * *

Hermione flipped the page once more and her eyes widened at the extremely lengthy page of questions.

* * *

_* What is your favourite colour?_  
_* Is your brother Lucius nice?_  
_* When is your birthday?_  
_* Do you like animals? If so, do you like kneazles or crups more?_  
_* Would you want a kneazle or a crup?_  
_* What colour would said kneazle be?_  
_* What colour would said Crup be?_  
_* Do you like brown kneazles? We have one, her name is Vega. She's brown with spots._

* * *

And the list went on for multiple pages, the writing seemed to become smaller as it came closer to the end of the parchment to allow more questions on the page. Hermione looked around and noticed that Lucius had already left her room with his letter, most likely to have brought it to his own room.

She folded up the letter and removed the lid to her small silver box. Moving the already folded letters, she made space for the two new ones and the interrogation of Narcissa at the very start so she could look it over in its entirety later.

Smoothing out her dress, she closed the box and left the room and went in the direction of the dining room. She observed the portraits of her ancestors who nodded and waved at her, some nodding respectively and others continuing their activities, like reading or talking with other portraits.

"Ah, here she is!" Upon entering through the large archway, Abraxas announced her arrival, Lucius and her mother already seated at the table with the eldest Malfoy at the end of the table.

"Come here." the old man said, his voice still soft, yet a commanding force behind it. She walked to his side where her grandfather gave her a kiss on her cheek and a pat on the back. "Happy Yule, my dear." he motioned to the opened chair beside her father and across from Lucius, to his left.

Today, Grandpa Malfoy was in great health for the holiday.

The House Elfs began bringing out the Christmas lunch and some wine for the older family members.

* * *

**Back at Grimmauld Place**

"Freddie! Wake up!" Fred groaned, his face deep in his pillow and he wrapped his blankets tighter around himself. "FREDERICK!" He cracked an eye open and turned just a bit to see Bellatrix seated a bit too closely to his bed, her face right in front of his.

"What?" He mumbled, earning a frown from his sister.

"We can't open gifts until you get your lazy butt out of bed." She flicked his forehead hard, ripping his pillow from beneath his head and hitting him with it. "We're all waiting!" She quickly ran away with the pillow and left their shared room.

_'Well, I guess no more sleeping this morning...'_ He threw the blankets off and ran a hand through his dark hair. He stood up on the wooden floor, only to fall back onto his bed shivering. "MERLIN THAT'S COLD!" A small laugh outside his bedroom door and the small footsteps running away made him shake his head and grumbled under his breath.

"GET UP!" Bellatrix shouted from the stairs.

It finally took him 10 minutes to finally be able to leave his room, still dressed in his pyjamas on Christmas morning and walked down to the sitting room where his sisters were glaring at him next to the stack of presents. His mother was drinking a cup of tea beside his father who was reading the Daily Prophet. A grunt from his father made the girls immediately dash for their presents, Andromeda passing Fred's through the seemingly invincible wall that was his sisters around the mountain.

"I got a broom!" Andromeda smiled brightly, admiring the shine and cleanliness of the handle.

"I got more books!"

I got... 1... 4... 8 new hairbrushes!"

"8 hairbrushes Bella?!"

"My hair is like a carpet. It needs force." She quickly explained as she shook her head from side-to-side to show her hair moving as a single entity. "See?" The rest of the family nodded in agreement. "What did you get Freddie?" Bellatrix looked over to the small palm-sized box in Fred's hand.

"Don't know." He opened it and saw a small piece of paper on it. "I got a note." He unfolded the small paper and read it to himself. '_Come see me for you gift -Arcturus Black'_ Fred refolded the letter and put it in his pocket for later.

"Oh well, I'll share my hairbrushes with you if you want."

"I don't need any of your brushes Bella."

"Thank you for reminding me Frederick. It's time to get your hair cut." His mother's ominous tone resonated quite strongly in the back of his mind. He swore he could even hear the snipping of scissors in his head and he felt himself go cold at the thought.

"Perhaps later dear. Someone-" His father looked pointedly at Fred "has an emergency meeting with the Head of the Family." The expression he received was not a friendly one. "What have you done recently Frederick? Have you offended someone? You will tell me boy."

"I haven't done a thing father." Fred answered as he moved over to Andromeda to admire the broom. "Grandfather wishes to gift me something."

"Alright. If you say so." Cygnus folded up the newspaper and threw it into the fireplace and let it burn. "Your cousins Sirius and Regulus are coming to visit."

"Why Sirius?" Bellatrix made a face. "He acts so... _Different_." her voice was laced with disgust.

"Because he is still family." Druella scolded. "You will endure it. You're lucky you have an older brother or else he'd be the next Heir."

"The family would go to the dumps if Sirius ever became Head." Cygnus sneered. Fred decided to simply stay quiet and occupy himself with the broom, despite being part of the subject of conversation. "Regulus is too shy to ever take command. Thank goodness for Frederick." While he may have been supposed to feel flattered, he only felt the cold shiver of being a replacement. Perhaps in a different dimension, he'd have done anything for the praise, but here it was unwanted. Desperately unwanted.

"He'll keep us on the right path." He felt a hand ruffle his hand and knew it was his mother. He forced himself to smile through the interaction, knowing if he showed discomfort, his parents would question.


	9. Chapter 9

Trouble is brewing in the Pureblood families

* * *

After his sisters opened their presents that day, Fred quickly found himself thrown into various etiquette classes, mostly instructed by the Lord Arcturus' wife Melania.

Having spotted Fred tripping once in the hallway, Melania had ordered him into hours of dance lessons in order to rid him of his so-called clumsiness. Now he knew why everyone hated Melania Black, nee MacMillian. Her surprise etiquette lessons were the reason.

In the small large sitting room, Fred had been instructed to dance with Bellatrix the proper way. Apparently his form lacked so much she felt the need to hit his sides with her cane to straighten him out every 20 seconds. Nonetheless, Fred cooperated, often struggling to lead because Bellatrix wanted to instead.

"Bellatrix! Stop leading!" Melania barked. "You are not a man!" Bellatrix would roll her eyes in the most discreet ways as she relinquished control and let Fred lead her. "You have the grace of an infant mudblood! Control yourself!" she then barked at him. The foul word always badly resonated with Fred, ever since he had first heard it. It had always irked him.

He struggled to remember the first time he had heard it, but distinctly remembered the shattering of teacups and plates, followed by his mother Molly's shrill voice. He had almost mixed up the memory of Druella calling muggles a bane instead of Molly screaming.

"Get your head out of the clouds, boy!" He felt the cane hit his back sharply, cutting his train of thought.

He almost felt the need to backtalk to her, but that would have only ended badly. _'Bite your tongue… Don't say anything…' _The slow, rhythmic droning of the waltz music had become increasingly more annoying than anything. It had gone on for 3 more long hours before coming to an end when Arcturus Black, the Head of the Black Family stepped in to summon Fred.

Lord Black had arrived along with his two little cousins, Sirius and Regulus while Bellatrix was sent off to be in their company despite her intense dislike of them and Fred was to follow the Lord.

Every since he had watched his sisters open their presents and he had received the note, he had been told to wait by his father until Arcturus came to him, which Fred found useless and boring as he had to wait many hours, only to have said man's wife come to visit and badger him about his lack of grace.

Arcturus led Fred to one of the studies of Grimmauld and warded the room before taking a seat at the desk and began rummaging through his things. Fred patiently took the seat across and waited until the elder Black was finished searching through his things. "Frederick, you look tense, my boy. Relax." He told him. "I am not here to scold you in any manner." The words did little to relax the Heir, though it had some desired effect. "I simply wish to know how your year is going. You have not written me any letters."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think-"

"Ah yes. Your father told you not to send letters unless it was of urgency, yes?" Arcturus said, an eyebrow raised a faint smile. "Don't listen to him. I always eagerly await letters from my family on the happenings in their lives, no matter how insignificant they may seem... All they do is ask favours, you see. Do promise you'll write this old man a letter before June comes along?"

"Of course, Lord Black."

"Call me grandfather, Frederick. You don't want me calling you Heir Black all day, do you?"

_'Not what I expected at all… Very...relax…?' _Fred immediately thought. "Alright… Grandfather…" He seemed so unsure of himself. _'Is he even my grandfather… No… That's Pollux. He's like… My great-uncle...?' _

"Worry not about the specifics Frederick." Arcturus cut off his thought process. "Now, your gift." He lifted a small box, the same size as his previous one. "Go on. I wish to witness your reaction." The old man smiled faintly at his Heir as he slowly undid the wrapped her of the box. Lifting off the lid, he pulled out a small ring. Or, a rather large one at that. "You turned twelve recently, which makes our tradition of gifting the Heir their signet ring on their 12th Christmas." Fred rolled the ring around in his palm, admiring the family crest and the moto _Toujours Pur _that was written below the banner. "You may choose to begin wearing the ring today if you wish, or hide it until later in order to keep the Prophet from latching onto new gossip vines." Fred slipped the ring onto his finger and watched it resize to fit his own specifically. "This is also what you will use for any official letter. You stamp the signet into a few drops of wax to close up a letter. It will be viewed as a high priority letter to read and, if you choose to send me one, be it important or just any correspondence letter, I shall see it as my top priority."

"I think I'll keep it hidden in my trunk for school for the time being." Fred told the man. "Unnecessary attention isn't really my priority at the moment." Once it came out, Fred realised just how cryptic he sounded but the elder man shrugged it off.

"You've always been peculiar, Frederick. Different than your typical Black." Arcturus began, a glossy sheen over his eyes. "You don't seem to flaunt your family name and you don't care for dramatics. Truly a mystery, my boy. I do wonder why." For a moment, Fred was taken back by the words, finding how they were used just a tad bit off before he continued. "Now, tell me about your new friends at school." And so, Fred momentarily forgot about the words he had just heard and went on to entertain the Lord Black of his stories from school.

"Brilliant news, Freddie," Bellatrix came to find him the moment he emerged from the study with Arcturus. "Hermione wrote back. She said her parents are allowing her to come for a visit the 27th and father is allowing the Malfoys a visiting day as well." Bellatrix and Fred cracked the same grins with the same glimmer in their eyes as they both dashed back down the halls of the home.

"Those two…" Arcturus smiled as he shook his head before encountering his nephew, Cygnus Black rounding the corner, just about to bump into the twins who had just left. The moment he took notice of his Head of Family, he gave a polite bow on the head and motioned to the study for a private word.

The two entered the study and it took no time before Cygnus spoke up. "Uncle, you gave him the signet ring?" It seemed more like a statement to the elder man. Animosity had quickly coated the air around the two when the door closed. Both men's eyes crinkled at their edges and narrowed to each other. It seemed this particular type of encounter was beginning to be more frequent as one recent between the two Blacks.

"If you have a problem with my decision, you will tell me now." Tension so thick, the two Blacks had a stare-down that would later result in various consequences.

* * *

**25th of December, Malfoy Manor **

Later that evening, Following a very cheerful family dinner, a chilling cold swept through the manor rather quickly, igniting a thick tension between the two elder Malfoys.

Lucius and Hermione sat idly by as their father seemed to glare at the Head of the Family. Alexandra seemed to be torn with what was going on and had no clue as to what to say.

Lord Malfoy had his usual expression, yet a glacial air in his eyes, entirely directed at his son, Abraxas, where as Abraxas had a visible scowl directed to his father, Lord Malfoy. It seemed as if Alexandra didn't even know what the two men were so angry about. She couldn't resolve an issue she didn't know about, yet she knew it was there.

Lucius and Hermione tried to occupy themselves after dinner to avoid the conflict that brewed between their father and grandfather but it was rather difficult to ignore when an explosion occurred. Running down the hall to the study, the door slightly ajar. The two sat outside the study out of the sight of its voices were loud and the atmosphere at dropped a few degrees.

The first voice they heard was their grandfather's.

"It is not your right to do so! You mustn't forget your place Abraxas!"

"The Malfoy reputation is on the line! I will not let our name be sullied!"

"You have sullied it enough in the last decades, your place by Grindelwald damaged our family enough. Do not think I have not heard the words you spout among them."

Lucius and Hermione momentarily looked at each other in confusion as the conversation took a turn. It seemed heated enough and they doubted that their mother was in the room. If she was, she'd have spoken up by then.

"I am leading this family on its rightful path! How dare you speak to me this way!" Lucius paled upon hearing his father's words. If he'd spoken to his father that way... Well he'd be stuck standing for a few days. The two siblings knew there was going to be another outburst. Septimus Malfoy might be old, but in no way was he incapable. "Their actions can only sully our name from here!"

"You dare speak to me in such a way? I brought you into this world, and do not think for one second that I would hesitate to remove you from our line. **Permanently **." Lord Malfoy's tone took an icy turn as his sentence paused. "It is your company that will bring our name into the mud."

"It is _her company _that she keeps that will drag our name through the mud, not my acquaintances."

"_Her _company has no political agenda!"

"She keeps Mudbloods and Blood Traitors in her presence! She does not deserve to carry my family name!"

Hermione's blood ran cold in that moment, whether it was simply one word or the entire conversation, she couldn't help but stand up and leave, leaving Lucius beside the door confused.

* * *

I apologise, it isn't very long.

For the earliest updates of the story, make sure to check out Rewind on AO3, I go by the same same name there too!


	10. Chapter 10

_"Fred..." He turned frantically, searching for the overly familiar voice. Yet all he saw was darkness. "How could you forget us?" This person's name was just on the tip of his tongue, he knew his voice. "You've even forgotten me." It was filled with disappointment._

_"Who is this?!" Fred shouted, confused and frustrated that he couldn't figure it out._

_"Has your new life made you forget your humble beginnings, Fred?" This was definitely a Weasley. Oh how he wanted to bash his head into a wall at the moment, he'd forgotten who this voice belonged to… His own family member, forgotten._

_"I haven't forgotten!" Fred shot back into the darkness._

_"You left me to die!" The familiar ring finally set in._

_"George… I could never forge-"_

_"You couldn't even remember my name! You own twin's name!" The darkness dissipated just enough so he could see George in front of him. "Did I not mean anything?! You couldn't even remember my voice. We have the same one after all."_

_The expression that Fred saw would forever be burned into his mind. The look of pure disappointment, betrayal in his eyes, George's eyes refusing to look into his own._

_"You replaced me with this… This psychotic bitch!"_

_"No! She's no-"_

_"Defending her now? Thought so." George's form dissipated into the darkness as Fred's stable footing took its turn to disintegrate as well. "I guess I meant nothing to you then…"_

* * *

Fred woke up in a cold sweat on the floor, right next to his bed. He turned on the lamp next to his bed and saw Bellatrix, still in her pyjamas in bed, across, seated on her mattress, as if she had just woken up. Her expression was the same coldness she gave everyone else, but there was a hint of worry that shone in her eyes.

_'I forgot she slept here too…'_ He thought, as his sister turned her body to face him completely.

"Nightmare Freddie?" She asked quietly, as if someone were standing outside their bedroom door.

"It's nothing." He mumbled.

"Bullshit." She answered almost immediately. "Count yourself lucky the walls are mostly soundproof, or else the entire household would have you scream."

"Sorry for waking you…" He mumbled as he stood up to get back into his bed. "Won't happen again." He threw his covers back over himself and turned the light off.

A small silence reigned for a few seconds before Bellatrix's lamp went on. "Fred…" She started.

"What?"

"Who's George? You were mumbling his name before you screamed." Fred felt the cold rush his veins and the lump in his throat.

"I'll tell you in the morning." He mumbled as low as he could before hearing a small hum and the light turn off once more.

"You should get a glass of water. It will calm your nerves." He heard her mumble followed by a few shifts from her bed and her blanket move. It took two seconds for Fred to realize that it would be the best advice he'd get so he did indeed go for water, keeping Bellatrix's words in his mind.

* * *

Once the sun up, Bellatrix simply watched her brother eat his breakfast, an unsettling silence as he refused to look anyone in the eye like a shy five-year-old child.

_'Just who is he? Who is this guy and how could he have such an effect on Freddie?'_ The thought buzzed around her mind. The looks she shared with Andromeda and Narcissa spoke the same. They noticed their eldest sibling's horrible mood as well.

"Hey Fred?" Narcissa asked hesitantly. Fred seemed to snap out of his daze and looked up. "Could you braid my hair today?"

"Mm, sure." He mumbled.

"You know, the Malfoy family are coming for a visit." Narcissa tried her smile, the one that Fred seemed to like more than the others. "You'll get to see your friend."

"Oh? Is it already the 27th?" He asked, not to anyone in particular, and poking his breakfast and pushing it around the plate. The three sisters nodded in sync, yet none knew what to say. Abruptly pushing off his chair, Fred said. "Come wake me up when they get here." And promptly left the dining hall.

A few hours passed, and the floo finally lit up with the awaited guests in Grimmauld place around 1 in the afternoon.

Lucius and Hermione were the first to emerge, their chimney cloaks covering their nice clothes from the ashes of the fireplace, then their mother emerged behind them a few seconds later.

"Welcome to our home, Lady Malfoy, Heir Malfoy and Miss Malfoy." Their hosts smiled politely to their guests. "We are delighted that you could be here."

"We are delighted that you extended an invitation to the rest of the family, Mr. And Mrs. Black." Alexandra smiled.

Hermione curtsied her head politely to the family, as did Lucius who nodded his head to their hosts. In the living room, was Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa.

"We apologise our eldest couldn't be here at the moment. He is currently resting." Druella mentioned. Hermione was instantly worried.

"Is Heir Black ill?" Lucius asked in Hermione's place. "Most unfortunate."

"Frederick simply had a rough night." Andromeda told him. "Bellatrix, will you come with me?" The two girls left the sitting room, probably to find Fred.

* * *

Bellatrix and Andromeda got to the bedroom and opened the door. They both shook their heads and sighed.

Their brother was lying face down in a pillow, not quite sure if he was sulking or simply that tired. In fact, he barely seemed to move, much less a twitch of any of his limbs.

"Freddie." Bellatrix spoke up first. "Freddie. Wake up." Bellatrix picked up one of the shoes she left and chucked it at his head, but got no movement. "Fred." She approached his bed and hit his leg. "Wake up. We have guests." Their brother finally groaned and lifted his head, his black hair twisting in every direction. "The Malfoys are here."

"You look like a tired mess Fred. Did you even sleep at all since breakfast?" Andromeda asked.

"Wh-Oh- course I did." He mumbled, sitting up groggily and trying to pat his hair down so it looked semi-presentable. "Maybe 20 minutes or so."

"Freddie, you look worse than I do on a normal day." Bellatrix said bluntly. "Now, let's go save Hermione and Lucius from the terror that is Social Butterfly Narcissa."

"Let me just fix this mess and I'll be down." Fred continuously tried to pat it down, the curls just stubbornly sticking right back up after every attempt before he finally huffed in frustration and got out of bed. "Fine. Let's go." The two siblings left their shared bedroom to go find their guests.

* * *

"Sweet Merlin Fred! You look horrible!" Hermione exclaimed, closing the door behind her.

"Way to be subtle. Thanks." Fred answered back.

"Sorry, but have you seen yourself in the mirror yet?" She pulled out a small hand mirror from her handbag and passed it to him. "Here."

Fred opened it and scrunched up his nose at the sight of the bags under his eyes and the unruly mess of black curls atop his head. He did look really bad.

"What's going on Fred? I haven't seen you in over a week and it looks like it's been rough on you." she told him. She desperately wanted to help, but she couldn't if he wasn't giving her anything to work with.

"Nightmares is all." Was all he said and she caught on to how his tone told her to leave it. Hermione sighed in defeat. "You want some tea? Mum says I need to be courteous to my guests." He mumbled, pointing to the kettle on the table with the two cups and the small saucer with the sugar cubes.

"Fred, no." she stiffld a small laugh. "Don't be courteous like your mother wants you to. It's not like you and it's too weird to see right now. But I certainly appreciate the effort." Fred smiled just a bit at her words. "Now, what'd you get for Christmas? I really appreciated the letters you sent along with Bellatrix's and Narcissa's letters. They were very fun to read."

"What was your favourite part?"

"Where you wrote about Bellatrix reading over your shoulder. I was sure every female in your family would be doing exactly that." she laughed, Fred let out a small chuckle.

"It's bound to get worse in the years to come, I'm sure you already know." Fred told her, pouring himself a cup of tea, despite not having much of a liking for it.

"Oh yes, I'm quite sure your letters are going to get more formal from your mother and father engraving their 'suggestions' into your head." She joked. It felt nice to be able to laugh with Hermione about these things, especially since he couldn't with anyone else.

"You should've seen what happened when your letter arrived! My mother had that shit eating grin on her face the moment my father declared who it was from!" Fred suddenly exclaimed, remembering the painful memory of his father interrogating him on formalities and everything related to it.

"Oh? Like Ginny would?"

"EXACTLY LIKE HER!" He immediately agreed with Hermione, taking a big rapid gulp of the burning tea in his hands. "Ouch that's hot!"

"Careful!" She laughed in a very unlady-like manner and took his cup. "Sweet Circe, this cup is scorching!" She almost pulled her hand away from the steaming cup of tea.

The door to the room suddenly opened and Druella stood there, unimpressed at the sight of the two alone in the room together. "Fredrick, what have I told you about being in a room alone with a female guest."

Fred sighed in defeat. "Not until I'm of age or betrothed..." He muttered loud enough for Hermione and Druella to hear.

"I apologies for the disrespect my son may have caused you, Miss Malfoy. Do forgive him." Druella's expression changed in the span of a second, as her gaze flickered from Fred to Hermione. "Atleast he offered her tea..." She muttered under her breath.

"Oh, he in no way disrespected me, Mrs. Black. It was I who wanted to speak with him alone. See, I'm simply worried for his health." Hermione politely replied. "He is close to my brother and I am often around them." she explained.

"I see. Thank you for your concern for my son. Would you join my family in the parlour? Our Elf is serving an afternoon snack." Druella requested.

"I would be happy to accept." Hermione stood up with the grace of a butterfly and placed Fred's cup of tea on the tray next to the empty one and the hot kettle. "Thank you very much for the tea, Heir Black." Hermione nodded respectfully and left the room.

"You best not muck this Fredrick." Druella immediately warned Fred. "Do not disrespect the Young Miss Malfoy or it could mean disastrous consequences for our family and yourself. I do hope Miss Malfoy was not covering for your sorry excuse of what you seem to call manners." Druella left the room, leaving Fred in a daze on the chair.

This was going to be a difficult next half of a week.

* * *

For a long, grueling, half an hour, everyone sat in the Parlour while Hermione's mother simply gossiped with Druella while Cygnus was elsewhere, apparently speaking with Walburga or Orion about something. It was as if they didn't exist.

Druella would share a blackmail story about Callidora Longbottom (nee Black) had found out some dirt on the current Minister and Alexandra would share one of her tales of whom she was currently blackmailing, one such being the current Lady Lestrange.

It wasn't for a bit longer until Alexandra finally noticed the boredom in Hermione's eyes and Lucius' very quiet behaviour that she finally spoke up.

"Oh dear, I think we've bored the children out of their wits." She let out a soft laugh. "Perhaps we should release them from this?"

"Oh alright." Druella waved a hand and the three girls immediately stood up and left the room, Hermione, Lucius and Fred following very closely behind.

"I've got something to show you, Hermione!" Narcissa dragged Hermione off almost instantly while Lucius couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"My goodness, Narcissa is quite the energetic little thing, isn't she?" He muttered as Andromeda nodded, her eyes cast downwards.

"I'm not sure how long that will last, if I'm being honest." She told them.

"What do you mean?" Lucius inquired further.

"Well, I've heard rumours of Mother trying to snuff out her liveliness in favour of quietness." Andromeda told them. "They find a quiet woman more lady-like than a lively one."

"A shame, truly." Lucius shook his head once more.

Fred thought about the exchange for quite a bit. There were already so many things happening around him that he wouldn't be able to change, Druella and Cygnus trying to snuff out Narcissa's happiness seemed to be added to the list and the best he could do about the situation was tell her to fake it around his parents. He could encourage her to be herself when they weren't around because, if he was being honest with himself, it felt nice to have some positive energy in his gloomy and sad home. He made sure to keep a mental note to talk to Hermione about it when they got back on the train to Hogwarts in the new year.

* * *

Here is a poll to help me decide something for the future. Yes, the link looks very dodgy, no you don't need to vote but it will give me insight on what my readers wish to see.

/xs/s!ArCYwdkx4KTRhGsgxztgQWLOXn0g

Just paste the link into google.


	11. Chapter 11

A few days passed and Fred found himself on the platform once again with his single suitcase, about to board the train for the second half of the school year.

Narcissa had opted to stay home because their mother had caught a cold, though he certainly imagined there may have been another reason she wasn't saying. Andromeda had gone to find her friend Anita and Bellatrix was searching for Antonin.

Fred on the other, he wasn't searching for anyone in particular. His father deemed the moment worthy to pull him into an empty corner, an extremely serious expression on his face that Fred knew would lead to a conversation he'd remember for the next few hours.

"Fredrick, you listen very closely." His father began, his finger pointed directly at him. "Watch what comes out of your mouth and how you behave. It reflects on our entire family and I will not have us embarrassed because of your actions, you hear?"

"Yes father." Fred answered mechanically. He'd learned it was simply better not to add more.

"Make yourself more male friends as well. Not that I don't want you around your sisters or their friends, but lift yourself above your peers. You are the Black Heir, show it. You have the purest blood of them all, you are the superior one. If you need to fight to prove it, use intellectual means. Do not lower yourself to Gryffindor standards by using your fists or acting recklessly."

"Yes father." Cygnus' finger came down and he put his hand on Fred's shoulder, like a happy father would, and put on a smile.

"Now, have a good year, send us owls whenever you wish, Merlin knows you only sent us two." For a moment, he wondered if the rare smile he saw gracing his father's face and the small laugh he'd heard under his breath were real. "It's like you don't want us around."

"That's absurd father." Fred smiled, the one he'd been taught to do as a Pureblood.

Even as a Weasley, he'd been taught by his father to maintain some form of respected image to the public, something that didn't seem to have passed on to Ron. _'When you have nothing, you have to act as if you have everything.'_ He told Fred one day when he was 10. But he hadn't meant material things. He meant true happiness, something so many rich Purebloods lacked. Now, he got to use some of those lessons he learned as a Weasley, and implemented them as a Black. He knew how it looked, so he knew how to do it.

"I love having you around. You are my father after all." Fred said, making his father smile genuinely at him.

"Good. Now you go get on the train and enjoy your year. Say hello to Professor Slughorn for me, will you?" He nodded and his father and him left the secluded corner and Fred boarded along with his two sisters. Andromeda and Bellatrix both waved to their father, giving him a small hug as they disappeared out of sight.

Once the train departed, he left them to go on his search. It hadn't taken long until he found Hermione's compartment, she was seated alone like the first time, he slid the door open and closed it behind him and sat across. "I knew peace and quiet wouldn't be achieved this time around." She grinned as she opened one eye.

"Ah, well, you enjoy my company." He replied, as if it had been a casual greeting. "Even if I am a gruesome thorn in your side."

"You are _the_ thorn in my side, Fred." They both laughed as Hermione got comfortable with her traveling robe wrapped cozily around her.

* * *

They'd quickly gotten back into routine at Hogwarts and the homework assigned was turned in by most students, the occasional rebel earning themselves detention, curtesy of Professor McGonagall.

One morning, at breakfast, Hermione had been sitting with Bellatrix, Antonin and Fred, all revising and helping each other improve their transfiguration essay that was due that afternoon, more specifically Bellatrix and Fred's, when a large white barn owl landed gracefully onto Fred's shoulder. It seemed this one was the very opposite of what Errol had been; young, graceful and intelligent.

"It's mum's owl!" Bellatrix took the owl onto her forearm and plucked the carefully sealed letter into her fingers. "Oh... It's for you."

"But it's been barely two weeks since we left." He grumbled as he took the letter with an exasperated sigh. "What could she want now..." He opened the seal and unfolded the letter, his eyes darting across the meticulously written parchment in rapid speed.

"What is she telling you?"

"You guys know my cousins Sirius and Regulus?" He asked the two not related to him. "Seems like they're moving into Grimmauld Place along with their parents."

"Not Aunt Walburga!" Bellatrix grimaced in disgust and annoyance. "She doesn't seem to know how not to scream."

"At least Uncle Alphard isn't coming to live with us..." Fred mumbled, Bellatrix thanking the higher powers for that.

"Thank Salazar we won't meet his prostitutes. Filthy whores."

"Always the pinnacle of grace, you are, Bella. Always." Hermione snorted as she bit into a piece of toast.

"Well, someone has to be!" Antonin said, making everyone in the vicinity burst out laughing, Anita Urquhart spitting out her drink accidentally for hearing the last portion of the conversation.

Down the table, Andromeda was observing the quartet in interest, her eyes landing on the letter in Fred's hands, or more specifically, his hands. From her point of view, it seemed like he wanted to rip the letter and watch it burn, from his hands constantly fidgeting with the page and squeezing his fists slowly and almost unnoticeably with the page in his hands.

* * *

"How was your Christmas Hermione?" Alex asked as they sat at the back of the library along with Annabelle Abbott. Even Kingsley had decided to join them instead of reading up on his personal project on dueling techniques.

"It went well. We saw grandfather, he's doing remarkably well for his age." She commented with a smile. "We also spent an afternoon at the Black family residence. Bellatrix invited Lucius and I."

"I wrote letters back and forth with Bellatrix! Horribly blunt, she is." Annabelle let out a giggle. "I'm glad she doesn't turn around the pot like so many others. It seems I may have found a shared interest between the two of us."

"Oh? A shared interest with Bellatrix Black?" Alex raised a brow as Kingsley leaned in to dig further.

"Oh yes! Spell creation is something that interests her very much! And it just so happens that we Abbotts are taught from a young age to keep an open mind with that very subject."

"A heavy subject," Kingsley added. "seems like Miss Black to have an interest there. The possibilities are endless, though it is a very advanced technique."

"Well, if there's anyone who could pull that off, it's her." Hermione opened her book and found her page. "What else did you write about?"

"Not very much else. We wrote about ways we could learn together in the future, or well I did and she agreed, and then the rest was mostly on how the holidays were going." Annabelle answered. "She is quite interesting. She wrote to me about your family visiting. How was that?"

"I met the youngest daughter, Narcissa, and I got to spend time with them. It was almost the same as our little routine here but at least my mother has more blackmail she can use." Hermione shrugged as Alex let out a nervous laugh and Kingsley clapped him on the back with a loud chuckle of his own.


	12. Chapter 12

January flashed by quickly, the snow and sunshine inviting everyone outside as the third years were finally able to go to Hogsmeade, a few of the fifth years bringing sweets back for the first and second years who were willing to buy some from them.

That weekend, the Great Snowball Tournament of 1966-1967 had occurred, the one that had been planned following the initial snowfall of winter before Christmas break.

The Slytherins had quickly dealt with Ravenclaw, catching all their older students as they attempted to be strategic about their castle and amount of snowballs, Bellatrix pelting the Head Boy in the crotch with an ice ball disguised as a snowball, something most people simply called an accident but Fred and Hermione just looked at each other and whistled anyway. As his housemates attempted to see if he was injured, the older Slytherins began a full assault on the Eagles and they were quickly outmatched, a single third year remaining who ended up forfeiting the victory to the Snakes, wanting to avoid being assaulted by dozens of snowballs.

Hufflepuff had quickly distinguished themselves against Gryffindor in their first match with their teamwork, effectively beating down their numbers rapidly while they preserved theirs with tactic. While the Lions simply tried to throw the biggest snowballs and show off, the badger house had thought a better tactic and won quickly, The Head Girl sacrificing herself to be hit while 8 Gryffindors were taken out simultaneously, all distracted and all wanting to be the one to gloat of taking her out, though the great honour went to a first year girl who pelted a small snowball and caught the Head Girl's shoulder.

Fred was particularly in a great mood after the Slytherin-Gryffindor match after nailing his mother, Molly, in the face with a bullet-speed snowball. Prefect Yaxley had enjoyed gloating about getting Gideon and Fabian Prewett, laughing when he got them both in a single snowball. Slytherin had obtained victory quickly and Gryffindor was now forced into battling for third place against Ravenclaw.

Hufflepuff and Slytherin had found themselves in a heated battle, lasting almost an entire two hours, and the two houses in last place were now torn between who they wanted to vote for. It hadn't taken long for Gryffindor to side with Hufflepuff, but Ravenclaw mostly stayed neutral, instead choosing to set up bets.

Though it surprised everyone even more when they entered a third hour of fighting, the numbers on both sides steadily decreasing occasionally once the two sides hit less than 15 active members each.

Aiming to hit a seventh year, Fred had found himself clocked in the cheek with a snowball harshly and groaned, his face in the snow. It had been his very first contact with a snowball in the entire day and he'd been hoping to go the entire day without being hit.

Hermione snickered from behind her tree at the sight of Fred falling face-first into the snow and two fifth year Hufflepuffs high fiving. She turned her head to see Bellatrix avidly making snowballs and making herself a pile behind her protective wall.

"I'll avenge you brother!" She shouted before whipping a snowball into the Head Girl's face and knocking her out of the battle. As Hermione ducked under her tree to gather snow, she picked up a snowball and turned, only to see a Hufflepuff student aiming at her. She quickly ducked as the snowball whizzed past her head and hit something — or someone.

"COME ON!" Hermione snickered upon realising that the snowball had hit Fred in the face once again when she ducked. "I am not a meat-shield..." He mumbled as he continued to make his way off the snowy battlefield, attempting to dodge any snowballs coming his way. Suddenly, the fight had come to an abrupt spot and many gasps were heard. Hermione peeked from behind the tree and saw the Gryffindor Head of House with snow in her face and gasped herself.

What idiot had felt brave enough to throw a snowball at McGonagall?!

The older woman wiped the snow off her face and waved the rest out of her hair with her wand and looked to the Parkinson heir, who had a heavy expression.

"Oops." Was all he could say before being dragged off the battlefield to be scolded by the professor.

The battle awkwardly continued following this and the need to win was amplified by Prefect Yaxley screaming out: "10 points to whoever hits at least 5 Hufflepuffs." And soon enough, Slytherin was once again dominating the court.

From the side, Hermione's eye caught something interesting. She hid behind her wall and sunk low to avoid to be hit as she looked closely to where Fred was sitting with the other Slytherins that had previously been hit. He seemed to be doing odd motions with his fingers before she realised that he was doing wandless magic. Looking to where his eyes were pointed, she noticed a few snowballs discreetly lifting up from behind one of the void walls and launch towards other Hufflepuffs.

_'Of course, no one would ever think a first year would know how to do wandless'_ She smirked as one by one, the Hufflepuffs fell and everyone was confused as to who was cursing them.

"Which one of you snakes is using your wands?" One of the prefects shouted before being hit in the face with a cursed snowball.

The match paused for two minutes as every Slytherin showed their hands and stood out from behind their protective walls.

"We gave our wands to Professor Slughorn" Prefect Yaxley pointed to their Head of House who was guarding a box in his hands, the place where all of their wands were.

At the start of the tournament, each of the Heads had collected the participants' wands in order for fairness.

'But they never said no one could use magic, just that we couldn't use our wands' Hermione snickered quietly in her corner as the game continued and Fred continued to curse snowballs and get them one-by-one by surprise while everyone tried to detect where they were coming from. She suspected perhaps one or two other older students were doing the same on their team, and she also suspected one Hufflepuff of doing the same, for she had seen one of the seventh years behind a wall throw snowballs, but she hadn't seen any limb poke out, such as a hand or a few fingers. just snowballs.

In the end, Slytherin had won, whether it was thanks to the wandless magic or everyone's efforts, everyone celebrated and Professor Sprout came out holding a trophy. One with a magic snowball on the top of the golden stand.

"Congratulations Slytherin house for your victory!" She told them with a smile as she handed the prefects the trophy. "We shall claim the trophy back next year."

* * *

"Seeing as it has yet to get any warmer this winter, we have taken the initiative to show you all the heating charm." Prefect Yaxley announced later that night.

After placing the trophy above the glowing fireplace and showing it off for the entire house to see, everyone had gone to do whatever they wanted while a few noted how it seemed to be getting colder.

And they certainly weren't imagining it. When one looked out to the Black Lake, they would be met with the sight of the water freezing deeper and deeper. The top quarter of the glass pane, you could see the layer of ice descending every day, despite Spring being well on its way by now. And with the lake freezing deeper this year, the Common Room got colder.

"These are one of those times where I prefer Gryffindor's common room to this one." Hermione muttered during the lesson to Fred while the first and second years were practicing the spell while she and Fred we 'practicing' the charm.

"Agreed..." He muttered, pointing to the icy pane of glass where some fish swam up to the layer of ice, only to swim far away from it, back down to the bottom. "Even the fish don't like it. But hey, we can at least enjoy that trophy."

"Oh, we certainly can, you cheat." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"What ever do you mean? Me? Cheat? I simply... _bent_ the rules, you mean." He retorted back, thinking back to his brilliance and smiling. "You should have joined me."

"I would much prefer not to cause mayhem around every corner, Frederick. Haven't you learned that yet?"

"Oh no, no. You don't cause mayhem, the mayhem finds you, doesn't it? I do recall the Cerberus, a basilisk, a werewolf, an ex-convict, the department of myst-"

"Yes, I get it." She stopped him. "Trouble won't ever leave me alone, I know."

"Nothing's happened this year, which surprises me greatly considering that when Harry arrived, something went wrong every year. I was hoping for some adventures but I guess not..."

"I swear if I get attacked before the end of the year, I'm blaming you entirely." She huffed, not wanting to be put in any unnecessary danger of any kind.

"See? You're simply dying for a chance to cause mayhem and put me in my place!" Fred bellowed at Hermione silently sent a stinging hex to his hand, making him drop his wand and laugh harder, now catching the attention of other students.

* * *

Hermione woke up a few mornings later earlier than usual, the light not even having begun to pass through the windows of the dungeons. Many weeks had passed and many sunny days had finally melted much of the snow and the ice from the lake, causing the common room to warm significantly, making the heating charms they'd been taught to warm themselves with mostly useless now that the ice had started receding and the fish were now swimming freely around the lake.

Of course, that wasn't what woke Hermione up, it was the shrieking in her dorm this early that had done that job.

"Shut up!" She heard a shout from the bed next to hers, Bellatrix's to be exact, and pushed her laughter down, knowing that the shrieking between Andromeda and Anita had woken them both up. Following the outburst, the girls had quiet down, but they remained just as enthusiastic about their hushed whispers and gossip.

But Hermione was now awake and couldn't go back to bed even if she wanted to. She finally sat up and looked around groggily. Andromeda and Anita were seated on top of the middle Black daughter's bed whispers close to each other and giggling, the second-year girls were somehow either still asleep or completely gone from the dorm, but either way, they'd done a good decision with whatever they chose to do.

She pulled the curtains around her bed and got dressed for the day, it was a Friday, meaning they had Astronomy and Potions class, one in the afternoon and the other late after dinner when the stars began to show.

By the time she drew her curtains open, the room had begun to brighten a bit, the sun peaking in the horizon just enough to need to squint at the brightness. She'd looked at the two whispering girls for barely ten seconds before leaving the dorm room and walking down the hall to the Common Room.

She stopped the moment she had entire the common room. It was significantly brighter than usual.

"Happy Valentine's day, Miss Malfoy." She was immediately greeted by a female prefect standing at beside the entrance. "How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm wonderful, thank you." She tried to refrain from using too much sarcasm in her voice. She looked around and watched as three other prefects decorating the Common Room with various kinds of pink and red hearts and streamers. It really fit the theme of the day after all. "Can I help with anything?"

The female prefect looked surprise at the offer, but thought nonetheless at what she could say. "Have you any plans this morning?"

"No, I don't think so," She answered. "we first years have potions in the afternoon and Astronomy in the evening, but that seems to be it."

"Well, I require some assistance with a task this morning. I'll only need you for about three hours." the prefect smiled. "I need to deliver these valentine roses from the Slytherins over the course of the morning and there are more than I thought."

"Seems interesting, I'd be glad to be of service." Hermione smiled as the Prefect waved her over to follow and eventually showed her the large basket of roses. There had been at least two dozen flowers, each with a personally made note to every person for whom they were addressed. Each rose was purchased from the Head boy and Head girl over the course of the last two weeks for the price of five knuts each and a note of the buyer's choice would be attached and delivered to the recipient by the Prefects of the buyer's house. Hermione found the entire plan sweet. It was a much better plan than what she had seen during her second year, the valentine-delivering dwarves being entirely too messy and more of a nuisance than anything with the various disruptions they caused.

And so they both left early for breakfast, arriving at the Great Hall to find there had been a handful of people there already, the Head boy and Head girl there at the end of one table discussing Merlin-knows-what, a few students from the other houses and even a few Hufflepuff fifth-years with books on their laps as they ate quietly.

Hermione finally learned that the female Prefect's name was Isla, though she preferred everyone call her by her last name Esposito. She was a sixth year who mostly preferred the solitude of the library and often chose to do her nightly rounds on that floor, saying she was making sure it was empty, only for another prefect to usually find her sitting in a corner and reading a book herself. This she learned when another prefect, a Ravenclaw, teased her for not having some kind of reading material with her, only for her to retort silently by pulling out a how-to manual from the inside of her robes with a straight face. This caused a few people to snicker and return to their eggs and toast.

* * *

"Where's Hermione? I haven't seen her all morning." Bellatrix entered the Great Hall later than usual and sat across from Fred and Antonin. She was looking straight at Fred, who unfortunately had a mouth entirely full of food and was expected to answer immediately.

He struggled to swallow everything before coughing a few times and hitting his chest a few times. "Why are you looking at me? I thought she was with you. She's your roommate." He coughed a few more times before draining his cup of pumpkin juice.

"I think she's off with Prefect Esposito." Antonin muttered, catching the eyes of Fred and Bellatrix. "Was entering the common room and they were leaving together for, what I presume was breakfast."

They shrugged and enjoyed breakfast, thought Fred constantly had to cover his bowl of cereal because of many Valentine letters being sent and exploding in glitter everywhere. A few times, he swallowed glitter and grimaced, coughing once or twice for he could feel the glitter in his throat, all while Bellatrix was removing the dozens of petals from her food because of Owls flying overhead with bouquets of flowers. Antonin had completely given up on eating until after the post so he wouldn't be in either predicament that most students now found themselves in.

"What classes do we have?" Antonin asked them, now finally picking up a few things almost a dozen minutes after the owls finally stopped flying in.

"Potions," Fred answered, finally returning to eat his cereal as the glitter had stopped falling into the bowl. "which leads to my next question."

"Speaking of Potions, why is Professor Slughorn in such a bad mood this morning?" The trio looked to the head table and snorted when they saw their Head of House grumbling to himself as he angrily buttered some toast, practically destroying the piece in his hand and having to redo another one. He was constantly shaking his head and accidentally bumped McGonagall's goblet, causing a few students to snicker.

"Probably had too many requests to go over Love potions. Happens every year." One of the older students laughed along with the younger students. "All the girls always ask."

"Yea, but if you're really desperate for one, just go to the Gryffindor. There's always one or two poor blokes that end up all hopped up and gooey eyed for the day."

"Poor Weasley was the last year's victim, I fear he may fall for it a second time." Fred couldn't help himself and released the loud snort he'd been holding back.

"That Prewett girl is really too insistent, man, I'd hate to be the bloke who marries her. I hear she's done it to him almost a handful of times already this year."

"She can do whatever she wants as long as she doesn't touch a Slytherin." A few of the older students gagged at the thought and two or three laughed at their expressions.

"You think those twin brothers' of hers would be up for a few minutes in a closet? Not bad on the eyes, you know." A few girls giggled at the one who suggested it, a seventh-year girl by the looks of it.

"Ugh, you're getting blinder by the year! Last year it was Fletcher, now it's the Prewetts? Get new glasses Shafiq!" Said girl had to block herself from the piece of bread that jokingly got thrown her way by the girl across from her.

For the remainder of the morning, Fred, Bellatrix and Antonin would only catch mere glimpses of their missing friend in the halls, following closely behind the sixth-year Slytherin Prefect until Potions class began, Hermione coming into class as the chime rang. She quickly sprang into her spot at the table claimed early on by the Slytherin students and settled in front of her cauldron while Professor Slughorn began on the common ingredients of love potions, a request he so gracefully received over twenty times that morning and was tired of receiving.


	13. Chapter 13

"For Miss Bellatrix Black, one rose from your dear brother!" the Slytherin prefect gave Bellatrix a rose that had a letter. The prefect held a pretty woven basket filled with roses; all notes attached to them.

Hermione leaned over from her potions assignment and read the note from Bellatrix's valentine gift. _'Hi! -Freddie'_ She was sure this wasn't the purpose of the flowers, but she laughed nonetheless.

"For Miss Hermione Malfoy, two roses! One from your brother as well as one from Mister Black." Hermione narrowed her eyes over at Fred, who sat at the other end of the room. He locked eyes with her and sent a highly exaggerated wink at her. "Mister Black, how many roses did you send out?" He shrugged and had to repress a laugh.

She took the two flowers and read the message, the first one from Fred. The second lay unread until later that day.

_'Can I Slytherin your chambers later? [insert winky face]'_ She read, trying not to laugh.

"No Frederick, you may not." She called out and he faked a heart ache.

"I may not live to see the next day!" and he fell out of his chair. He pretended to die on the floor as other students snickered around him. He then pulled the Ravenclaw who was sitting beside him and told him: "Make sure my funeral looks nice." before falling back to the floor.

The prefect continued to hand out the roses to the students while Professor Slughorn had simply sat in his chair until his students stopped giggling and chatting with each other.

A small crack and a loud cough caught everyone's attention when a Ravenclaw, the one sitting beside Fred, had begun apologizing profusely.

"Mr. Black, you know the way to the Hospital wing?" Fred sat up and hacked his lungs while nodding. "Mr. Lestrange, do go with him."

* * *

"You okay Freddie?" Bellatrix badgered him for the hundredth time that afternoon. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes Bellatrix, I am fine." He responded for the hundredth time as well. He kept his eyes on her hands while he leant down to grab his spoon for his bowl of soup. After coming back from the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey had wrapped a bandage around the injury on his head from the broken phial.

Bellatrix had constantly been poking the bandage on his head, trying to see just how much it would hurt if something touched it, but Fred was getting tired of it.

"Does Madam Pomfrey know what fell on your head?" Hermione asked, "A phial did break on your head."

"I think she said it was powdered horn or something." Fred tried to recall. "No harm done anyway."

* * *

"How many roses did you send out exactly?" Hermione eyed Fred. "Bellatrix, andromeda and I all got some, and I remember seeing your name on quite a few of those."

Fred snickered in his seat instead of answering, pointing up to the open window to let the owls in. One large owl swooped in with quite a few of them and dropped them on the head table, right on Professor McGonagall's lap.

"Oh." Was all Hermione said as she watched the Gryffindor head open the letter and scan the Slytherin table before stopping on Fred.

"Mister Black, a flattering gift, but unnecessary," She said crisply, making most of the hall giggle.

"You wound me, Professor!" Fred repeated his act of falling off his seat as if he died, causing more laughter to erupt around the tables.

"I will, however, accept them. Thank you." She smiled and transfigured her cup into a vase, filling it with water and dropping the flowers into it.

"This is going to become the norm, isn't it?" Hermione sighed, already aware of the answer he would give.

"Oh definitely." He answered before sitting back up on his chair and finishing his meal.

* * *

**_Author's note_**

**_There will be a double update. I apologise, I didn't know how to continue this chapter, but it was a nice little break from everything else. The next chapter should be uploaded before the end of today so I hope you all enjoyed this shorter one._**

**_**** comments encourage me to write, and I love to know what you all thought of the chapters up until now, whether it's your favourite part, a part you found funny or even a funny situation in which you are reading my story! ****_**


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione walked down the field like a woman on a mission. Students who waved at her were almost ignored immediately, her quick pace going right by them. Many even wondered if she had perhaps forgotten about an assignment or some homework, but quickly dismissed the odd behaviour to resume their activities.

Though one person knew what mission she was on, since he was having to keep up the pace, something that seemed harder than it should have been, he had to almost run behind her, caring the books she had requested.

"Hermione, slow down!" Fred whined as they reached their designated spot. "I didn't even know you moved this fast." He huffed. Despite training for Quidditch, Fred was still out of breath by the time she stopped at the willow tree.

"Oh-Sorry" She apologised, suddenly feeling bad that she had made him work so diligently to follow her out here. "But I thought this might actually be important."

"Alright... Well, I don't think anyone is out here," He muttered looking around. What did you find?"

"Muffliato," she casted, to ensure no one listened in on their conversation. "I was remembering something this morning and I thought, we should write a timeline for all of this."

"No matter what, we've already changed time enough. What if these things don't happen at the proper times? What then?" He asked, laying his cloak on the ground to sit on.

"Then we'll try to work with it." Hermione took out a notebook, quill and notebook. "Our presence changes things, you've mentioned it already, but what if these events happened because we travelled back?" She asked. "how much do you know about time travel?"

"I know enough, seeing as you've used a time turner in your third year, yes I know about that." He started. "Fixed points are events that must happen or the events following them will change. Don't change the fixed points, but you can change the smaller, minor details without major changes." He thought back. "If I'm not wrong, that's how you saved Sirius and Buckbeak."

"I'm going to ask how you knew about that later, but precisely. But we didn't travel by time turner, meaning that this is going to be a bit different. Our presence alone has already changed events, such as family relations and future lordships." She looked directly at Fred. "Sirius is no longer in the carefully watchful eye of Walburga anymore, you're in everyone's eye."

"Don't remind me, please." He cut her off briefly.

"Anyway, Sirius is no longer a primary target, but he is still in line after you. If you start behaving like a Gryffindor, most of the Blacks are going to try and get rid of you. Pureblood Black only gets you so far when you've been disowned for having redeeming qualities." She told him. He knew she was right, the moment he started showing the qualities of someone who was friendly to Muggleborns or thought of Half-Bloods as equals to Purebloods, and he'd be gone from the tree just like those who married or were muggle-sympathisers. "You have to keep up the image of a narcissistic Pureblood supremacist."

"No way am I doing that." Fred said. "that would be an insult to my whole life before this. I can't be a blood supremacist after being a blood traitor, do you know how I weird that is? I would go from friendly with muggleborns and Half-Bloods to calling people Mudblood, and you know I can't do that."

"I'm not saying to call people mudb-"

"That's exactly what you're saying. If I don't it causes too much doubt. And when you're keeping up a lie, that's the last thing you want." Fred stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "We got off track. Writing down fixed points."

"Oh-uh, yes." Hermione scrambled to pull out her book and laid out the blank page. "Do you remember when people first started dying?"

"That's a grand first question after the previous one."

"Answer it."

"Just joking, let me think." Fred looked up to the cloud and stayed silent for a few minutes before answer. "It happened one or two years before mum and dad graduated." He answered. "A bit vague, I know, but they didn't like to talk about it and we didn't learn about it in History of Magic either so it's all very blurry."

"We'll write down next year then. Do you know around what time of the year?"

"After Christmas, definitely after Christmas, but not before summer."

"We'll write between New Year and Easter." Fred laid down on the grass while Hermione scribbled down the dates 1968 (spring) on her paper. "What else happened?"

"Well, the Ministry was hiding most of the weird killings for a while before it became evident something was going on. The war started in 1970, parents already graduated by then, but it started before then."

"Oh no," she mumbled, stopping Fred from continuing. "If the war started in 1970 but people were dying before that, then it's probably already started happening."

"how did you not realise this sooner? Damn, I thought that was common knowledge. He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named started gaining followers in the early 1960s, according to my dad, but I could be wrong. Death started looming over everyone by then, and it hadn't even been announced yet. It just felt like war was coming."

"This is going to be harder than we thought."

"Oh definitely, I'm surprised it's only dawned on you now. Hey, now that this is the talk, how in Merlin's name did Boy-Who-Won't-Die Potter and my kid brother even defeat ol' snake face?"

"Spelling it out for them. Quite literally, I had to give them all the answers." Hermione groaned at the memories of the countless hours spent in the library, searching through hundreds of books for the small bits of information that could either be good, bad or too bias to use, only to have something go wrong and the plan to get blown into smithereens and all three of them getting into trouble. Almost every single year.

"Well, at least I'm not afraid of a couple of books, so if you need any help, just holler and I'll try to help."

"Oh, I was going to make you read even if you weren't going to volunteer. I made Harry and Ron do it, I'm not afraid to make you do it either." She smiled, closing her book and shoving it into her bag. "Try and think about the things that happened before the war that might help us figure out a course of actions to take."

* * *

It was late when Hermione returned to her dorm after dinner time.

For an odd reason, the torches that usually lit up the dungeons were burning down to a point they might extinguish and the light was a small green colour, just like the ones inside her dormitory. Not a single sound could be heard, no footsteps, no words, just the droplets of water falling from the ceiling onto the floor.

Then all of the lights went out and she was engulfed in darkness.

"Who's there?" Hermione took out her wand and casted Lumos quietly. "Show yourself." She said, trying to keep her confidence up.

Never had the torches down in the dungeons gone out, not like this. A heavy gust of wind blew around her, as if she standing in the eye of a tornado. She caught a small white light go flying past her head, inches away from her face before she heard whispers.

The gust of wind and the torches abruptly turned back on once again, lighting the hall as if should be. Hermione quickly turned around, sighing that she was the only one in the hall now.

"Miss Malfoy? What happened?" She heard Professor Slughorn's voice approach. "Are you the one who extinguished the lights?"

"Uh, no sir." She answered, looking up at her Head of House.

"It's getting late, you should be going back to your dorm." He patted her shoulder and accompanied her down the hall where they were greeted with a large message on the wall. "Oh now, that is unacceptable!" The professor visibly grew irate as he marched down to the common room. He barely mumbled the password while the entrance opened hurriedly to let in the professor.

"Professor Slughorn, good evening." Prefect Esposito greeted him as he made his entrance.

"Gather everyone here, immediately." He told her, making her run off and find the other prefects.

In less than five minutes was everyone gathered in the sitting area, Professor Slughorn in front of the fireplace with everyone's attention on him.

"Who knows why I called everyone here?" He asked, no one standing up or lifting their hand to tell. "I better not hear anyone mention any of those- those foul words in this House, or the consequences will be severe, am I understood?" Everyone complied and nodded, answering all together while the Professor went off to his office.

Fred approached Hermione with a raised brow. "What was he talking about?"

"Someone wrote Blood Traitor on the wall." Hermione told him quietly.

"It could have been directed at anybody," Fred mumbled, "why is he only telling us?"

"It was painted on one of the dungeon walls near the entrance. It's part of the path that we have to take to get in here." Fred nodded, understanding what she meant.

"Think it's directed at anyone in our house?" He asked, the room quietly dispersing and emptying itself of people.

"No, I don't think so." Hermione lied. There was no use worrying anyone or popping up with wild conclusions this quickly, as it could have been a joke.

* * *

In the boys' dormitory, the first years were either working on their assignments or simply lying down to take a nap. Fred on the other hand, had taken to closing his bed curtain and had taking his notebook in bed with him to write.

He kept fidgeting with his quill, trying to wrack his mind for anything that might help him figure out the entire time travel business. But no matter how much he thought about it, the memories seemed to miss certain portions. Even remembering events from his own life that he held close to his heart were blurred.

_"Give her hell from us Peeves,"_ He remembered shouting that when he left Hogwarts on his broom with George. Though he only remembered a few parts of the ride, and he doesn't remember anything after he floo'ed until he went to bed. Of course, the memory wasn't full. He didn't floo and go straight to bed, he knew he had worked hard for the rest of the day because he'd been jumping between places to hide out.

_Is this happening to Hermione too? Blanks in memories?_ He wondered. Why did he keep putting off this specific question? If they were going to write down the events on the timeline, sooner the better, lest one of them forgets what's necessary for their mission.

"Hey Frederick, pull the curtain!" He heard someone say loudly, breaking his thoughts. He quickly shoved the book beneath the mattress and opened the curtain. Cantankerous was standing on the other side of the curtain in his sleepwear. "What are you up to back here?"

"Reading a book." He answered, pointing to the stack of his workbooks. "Have to do my work, you know." He flicked one of the books and extended his legs on his bed.

"You've been quiet since you came in. Was it what Ol' Sluggy said?" He leaned on the wall, a raised brow and looking for any sign of a reaction from the younger heir. His voice was at a lower tone, loud enough for no one else to hear.

"Oh no, nothing of the sort." He waved it off.

"I heard about Walburga moving in." He said, Fred deciding he hadn't noticed the topic change. "Happy about that?"

"What do you think?"

"Aha, thought so. She's the one who can't shut her trap, isn't she?" Fred nodded and laughed. "Would hate to live in the same house as her. Shove over." Cantankerous laid on his bed. "Poor you" The teasing tone made him want to slap the other in the face.

"I mean, get to have my cousins in the house. Won't be the only guy anymore." Fred laughed. If only Cantankerous knew about how he'd had five brothers and only one sister and how different it was.

"Don't like having three sisters? Could learn a thing or two," Cantankerous roughly ruffled the hair on his head before pushing him off the bed and landing on him in an impromptu sparring match

"CAN'T BREATHE!"

"I CAN BREATHE JUST FINE!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!"

* * *

_**So that was the second part of the double update, if you haven't read the other part, then go back a chapter and read that one too! **_

_**Reviews are always welcome and they encourage me to write too! **_

_**Maybe I've gotten my inspiration back! Let's hope it doesn't vanish like nothing...**_


	15. Chapter 15

A soft ringing filled the first years' dorm, a chime like sound emanating from the eldest black daughter's nightstand. It rang for 10 seconds before being turned off. The following was a groan and the swishing of blankets and two small taps against the floor.

'_7 in the morning, wake up, brush hair,'_ the thought repeated in Bellatrix's head like clockwork every morning. '_first one awake once again._' She looked around to the beds, the curtains all still drawn as usual. Her eyes landed on her neighbour's bed. The young Malfoy girl was intriguing to be around 'Maybe she'll let me walk with her to Transfiguration.' She wondered, walking past the beds and out of the dormitory with her small towel.

She walked by the various other rooms, 3rd years and 4th years, 5th years and 7th years, then the 6th years who curiously got their own rooms to themselves. Oh, what she'd do to have some privacy from the nosy second years in her dorms.

She walked into the bathroom and went to the small cupboard with her name inscribed on a small metal strip. Bellatrix Black, in bold lettering, her family insignia next to her name with a star. She smiled and opened the cupboard, pulling out her hair brush and starting to untangle the jungle of curls and waves in her soft black hair. "Why — Does — Andy — Get — It — Easy?!" She grunted with every pull of the brush through the thick hair. Despite having almost identical hair, Andromeda's curled like bloody perfect waves, yet hers looked as if she'd been struck by lightning.

After a half hour of brushing, she wet the brush with water and brushed through again, wanting to control the nasty twists she'd created by brushing her hair dry. Satisfied with the small, more organised clumping, she put her brush and things back into the cupboard, washing her face with warm water and patting her face dry with the towel and tucking it beneath her brush, closing the cupboard door and leaving the bathroom.

"Oh look! Mistress Black and her puff of hair!" she heard snickering before getting shoved into the wall. "Crazy like her family!" Another girl she heard laugh. She felt a hand tug at a curl and being pulled upwards.

Before the girl could realise what was happening, Bellatrix had grabbed her arm and pulled her down to the floor and twisted it painfully behind her back.

_'7:30, 6th year girls make fun of my hair._' The thought repeated as she played the game and let the girls get away once the girl in pain shouted to be let go. The shrillness in her voice annoyed her ears this early. She didn't have time to do this pattern again. She just wanted to get ready in the morning in peace. Was that so much to ask for?

* * *

_'I wonder what Freddie is doing...'_ She wondered as she sat in the courtyard with a few snacks she'd gotten from the kitchen for lunch. _'Wonder where he is...'_ She leaned back against a pillar and gazed up at the small passing clouds, small white wisps in the bright blue sky.

"Bellatrix! There you are!" She heard the excited voice. Only one person she could think of had that voice. The voice that carried a burden on her shoulders.

"Annabelle, how _wonderful_ to see you," she commented as the girl's footsteps drew faster towards her.

"You told me you would help me with my assignment! What are you doing out in the courtyard like this?"

"I seem to be relaxing, perhaps try it for once."

"Ah, I do enough of that back in the common room, but thank you for the offer." Bellatrix would have rolled her eyes if they had been open. Always changing her comments as if they were genuine offers, this girl was too nice. No wonder she was a Puff. "You seem bored out here, where's your sister or your brother?"

"Busy elsewhere. Find Malfoy and you find Frederick. Find my sister anywhere else in the castle." That made her think, what in the world did Andromeda do with her days. She was rarely in the presence of any of the other Slytherins. She really should pay attention to the girl.

"Hmm, Follow me!" Before Bellatrix could answer, her wrist was pulled up and she was dragged off the bench, out towards the grassy fields, past where they had their flying lessons and right down where the yard went down a slope.

"Where are you taking me?" Bellatrix pursed her lips as she continued being dragged around by the Hufflepuff girl.

"Just follow me." She rolled her eyes and picked up the pace, being dragged bast the trees and bushes and growing flowers before Annabelle released her arm and they raced down the hill, almost tripping on the way to the shore banks it seemed. "Here!" The Hufflepuff girl threw her arms at the direction of the lake and smiled gleefully.

"I see a lake."

"Look further than just the lake!" Annabelle semi-scolded Bellatrix.

Bellatrix looked out at the lake, unaware of what else she was supposed to be looking at. She saw the mountains in the distance, the river leading right between them and the sun was up. She didn't understand what she was supposed to be seeing. "I still just see a landscape."

"Ughh Bella, look at the lush green of the trees! It's peak growing time and you can see the flowers growing over there! And the fish are jumping over the water occasionally! It's so pretty!" The girl gushed and continued on what she thought was the beauty of nature and it's 'peak growing season' as she called it several more times.

"Alright..." Bellatrix sat down on the grass and found that the dirt wasn't entirely too hard here, and despite being next to the lake, it wasn't wet or damp.

The ideal relaxing spot.

"Let's come here more often then." Bellatrix laid down and continued to gaze at the clouds like she had done earlier in the courtyard.

"Oh I just knew you would like it!" The moment Annabelle looked over, she noticed that Bellatrix had returned to relaxing in the dirt, her eyes now closed. She bent to pat the ground next to her and found it soft. 'ideal for planting flowers!' She thought happily. "Oh... you just want to sleep."

"We have a winner. Good job." the Slytherin answered, lifting a thumbs up to the girl for a quick moment before folding her arms beneath her head and closing her eyes.

"I think... I'll just join you then." Annabelle laid down right next to Bellatrix, closer than she probably should have, but Bellatrix made little reaction to push the girl away so there they were, the two first year girls relaxing and/or sleeping in the grassy hill on a sunny day.

* * *

"Freddie! Where have you been?!" She finally found her twin brother in the Great Hall, eating to his heart's content around dinner time. She wouldn't have it any other way, but he could atleast learn how to pick up a knife properly or use the right spoon to eat his soup.

"Umm, sleeping..." He responded, trying not to look overly embarrassed.

"You spent all day in bed again? Freddie, your sleep pattern, imagine it~" She said worriedly, sitting right next to him and taking his arm. "You'll fall asleep in class."

"I'll make sure he doesn't, don't worry." Hermione said from across the table. She deposited her books on the side of the bench before taking a seat. "I haven't seen you around all day. Where have you been."

"He's been sleeping all day! Can't you believe the nerve!" Bellatrix exclaimed, standing up and pointing at him. "And he didn't even think of telling me! I was searching for him everywhere!"

"Shame Frederick. You have better things to do than sleep all day. How about that Transfiguration homework that's due on Monday? Start that yet?" They both almost cracked into a smile when Fred almost turned red in embarrassment.

"Oh, well if he fails, it's not on us. At least we did it."

"I won't fail because of one assignment!" He almost shouted, his face turning a darker shade of red. "I have nearly perfect grades! They're better than yours even."

"Keep telling yourself that Freddie." Bellatrix shut her brother up very quickly with that one, and she was proud of it.

* * *

"Bellatrix! Wait up!" She stopped walking in the hall when she heard the accent from behind her.

"Dolohov, we are not friends. What have I told you about calling me by my name?"

"Call you Black, you've said it at least a dozen times this year." He said it, annoyed that now he has to repeat it.

"You have no sense of manners." she curtly stated, turning and walking towards her destination. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"I don't feel like I should, so I'm not." He caught up to her like it wasn't a problem and walked to her quick pace.

"Well you should. As a member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, you disrespect me by doing so, you uncultured flobberworm." She cut him off before he could continue talking. Honestly, people lacked decorum these days, she watched blasted blood traitors strut around the castle, displaying lack of any manners taught to them and it frustrated her immensely. The least those lower witches and wizards could do is show some form of self-respect or dignity for themselves.

"Well, we've known each other since September so I am going to assume we are a bit more than acquaintances, don't you agree?" He asked her, a crooked grin on his face.

"You're right. You're a nuisance."

"A useful nuisance."

"That makes no sense."

"To me, it does." He finally closed his mouth and they continued the silent walk to the library where she had been needing to go. Her assignment couldn't wait much longer to get done.

Sitting down in a well-lit corner, a few other students sitting not too far away, the two sat down at a table and pulled out their parchment, quill and ink vial.

"Honestly, such improper behaviour is infuriating to see." she fumed. She looked at Dolohov and noticed he was just staring at her. "What? Say what you want to say."

"I think you should relax a bit." He told her bluntly. "It's not the 18th century anymore. Not everyone is made to follow etiquette like yours."

"They should. It's the only way to make yourself presentable. Even blasted Weasel does it. That's the only amount of respect I have for that traitorous family. At least they teach their heirs manners and appropriate public behaviour."

"I'm just saying, let it go for just a bit." Dolohov cut her off before she could go off on a tangent. "What did you put for the first question? I got Powdered Newt spleen."

"This is Transfiguration."

* * *

"Oi! It's not your turn!" Bellatrix shouted, pointing her wand at her opponent in the common room below. "It's mine!" She tapped her wand on two cards and gained a pair before one of the cars could spew her with the odd smelling gunk.

"Bellatrix, calm down a bit." One of the older students mumbled. "It's just a game."

"I will be Exploding snaps champion!" she shouted and claimed three more pairs one after the other. "Your move, peasant." The boy across from her focused on the game and tapped one of the cards, looking for the other that matched, until he looked up and was met by a stare of dark eyes from the curly haired witch across from him. He didn't realise he had gotten distracted until the card spewed in his face and returned to the table of unchosen cards. "Ha!" She claimed another pair and yet another following that.

The match had barely lasted another 10 minutes due to her opponent scaring himself every time he looked up at Bellatrix. Her method? Just scare your opponent.

Once the match over and two of the older students settled for a game, Bellatrix went over and sat on one of the lush green sofas next to her brother. "Bellatrix, you don't need to scare your opponents like this..." He muttered, trying not to say anything that might trigger her.

"If it works, it works."

"I think the kid pissed himself a little."

"That's his fault for being a pansy!" She didn't miss the small snort that came from her twin, "Would you like to play a game? You aren't like them! You don't crumble under a stare."

"Maybe later... I think I have to go... do my assignment." and with that, he got up and left to go to his room, leaving Bellatrix on the couch by herself.

"Oh no~ Did you brother reject you again? Poor Mistress Black" Ah, that voice again. Like clockwork, this girl always came back and picked on her. This time she had her wand.

"Ducklifors!" She mumbled and pointed her wand. And suddenly, there was a loud Quack that echoed in the common room and she sauntered off to her own room. She was thankful her uncle had taught her that one. She simply could not wait until fourth year to learn how to jinx people into ducks.

'_I need more useful jinxes... Perhaps Malfoy can help me find some in the library.'_ She wondered as she went to the bathroom to brush her hair and get ready for bed.

* * *

**_Yea these chapters are sporadic and may come in double updates at times, but at least I'm back and writing!_**

**_Mostly, it's me not wanting to do my university assignments but at least I'm writing stuff for my stories though :)_**

**_I want to know if you guys want me to do more stuff like this, change the point of view occasionally so we get outside views. I had fun writing from Bellatrix's view on the world._**


	16. Chapter 16

As many weeks passed, the slow deterioration of the fifth- and seventh-year students' sanity was becoming more and more apparent as the dark circles, late nights in the common rooms and the repetitive throwing of themselves on the couch was becoming more frequent.

Out of respect, the younger students allowed the furniture to be used by the older students. Everyone had witnessed how one of the seventh years almost start crying because of the course load and everyone began giving up their seats for the elder students after that day,

And while most of the furniture in the common room was used to nap or study, the library's most commonly frequented areas remained void of the older students. Most easily guessed it was because the younger students loved to discuss other things instead of their studies, so it was only natural the older ones would want complete silence. It was only expected that the dark corners of empty classrooms and library shelves were often occupied by sleep-deprived teenagers.

And being part of the fifth and seventh years, were the prefects, who only got tighter on rules as stress accumulated and exploded in the smallest of arguments. Most of the prefects were glad that the younger students were getting out of their way to relieve their stress as much as possible, but some of the others seemed like they were purposely hunting younger students to deduct points.

A mostly silent Thursday morning, the library was mostly occupied by older students, but many had to turn in the last assignments for their classes, hence the younger students hidden away to whisper amongst themselves to complete their work.

"Hey Fred, doesn't it feel like Molly is watching me? You know, a bit closely these last few hours?" Hermione whispered to Fred in the library one morning. They were both sitting in one of the furthest corners of the library, the tables and chairs all dusty and in desperate need of being swept or cleaned.

"What would you consider too closely?" He asked.

"To the point that wherever I go, she's there for some reason." She mumbled, looking behind her to make sure she wasn't coming around on her 'tours'. "I tripped and she deduced 5 points for disrupting the students."

"Now that is a bit suspicious." He whistled low. "Blimey, she really does not like you." Fred motioned her closer. "It might have something to do with Dumbledore stashing the Hourglasses away. Last I saw, we were close to being in the lead."

"How did you know?"

"It might have to do with the fact that Dumbles still uses the same passwords. Wizard sweets are his go-to codes." Fred grinned. "Let's just hope we don't have a repeat of the last time." He plugged his nose with his finger and stood up before saying quietly: "100 points to Harry for breathing, good job!"

"Oh so I'm not the only one who noticed the favouritism, then."

"Oh no, the whole school noticed. A victory was fun, but that first year was quite unfair, even with Snape removing points for every possible reason. That was like showing your dick to the entire house." Hermione grimaced at the comparison and made him sit down before he made a scene.

* * *

"Congratulations, our dear snakes!" Prefect Esposito shouted out, clearly happy about something that had recently happened. The students began asking each other questions about any celebration worthy actions that anybody had done.

The last few weeks happened without incident and habits quickly set back in after the incident of the word on the wall. O.W.L exams were coming up quickly for the fifth years and NEWT level exams were stressing most of the seventh years to the point where some of them were barely sleeping anymore.

"As long as none of you screw up, we will finally win the House cup!" Prefect Yaxley answered to the prolonged whispers of the students. "We dominated the student roll and the house points, it's not over yet." The students cheered excitedly, almost jumping off the couches and the floor of the common room.

"Work hard, and we'll have bragging rights for the whole year!" Prefect Esposito finished and the prefects left the room all together to let the younger students celebrate.

"Ah well that explains why Molly is docking you so many points." Fred pointed out from his spot on the couch. "She could also just be stressed and trying to do her job too?" The look Hermione gave him made him take it back. "Alright, alright, she's just being her controlling self."

* * *

It seemed almost coincidental how Hermione kept finding herself in these situations. Walking alone in the dungeons, when all the torches would blow out the halls into darkness for small moments, only to relight themselves less than ten seconds later.

It was getting frustrating for she hadn't heard of this happening to any other student so far. She had noticed one of the halls had gotten significantly darker for a few moments when she had been returning to her dorms, but the hall itself was empty. This time, the pitch black had been accompanied with a chill in the air and dripping of water onto the floor. No footsteps, no whispers, no shuffling of clothes, there was no sound other than her own breathing.

"Lumos," She whispered and pointed her lit wand across the dark hall, lighting a small path for her. The light bounced off the damp floor and walls, but not as far as she would have wanted. It only lit up her area, leaving the rest of the hall immersed in the pitch black. "Show yourself!" She muttered, showing her wand in front and then behind her.

No words or whispers.

No footsteps or shuffling.

She grumbled and hurried off to the next hall right as the lights went back on and the hall was left in its usual dark eerie glow.

"Miss Malfoy? What are you doing out so late?" She saw Prefect Esposito come down the hall, a bag slung over her shoulder and dark circles under her eyes as it they had been permanently shadowed.

"Oh, I just got lost. The lights went out." She explained, showing that she was on her way back.

"Oh... Alright then. I'll walk you back. Come on, little snake." She waved her over and she swung her bag on to the other shoulder and went back towards the dungeons. It was a short walk of two more halls before they reached the entrance. "Time for bed." She yawned and said the password for the wall to open up.

Hermione let out a small laugh before adding onto it. "Both of us it seems."

* * *

The month of June had arrived and the pandemic of academic stress continued to spread and the fifth years were regularly trying to keep each other from having break downs in public, while the seventh years were now oddly calm. It felt like a silent bomb about to explode at any moment.

"You younger kids are so damn lucky..." Pavel Parkinson muttered angrily at the breakfast table one morning. He had his study book for his Charms O.W.L.s out, balancing itself open while he ate a piece of bread.

"Parkinson, take a break, for Merlin's sake. You've had the exact book open all week!" A fifth-year student exclaimed from nearby. It was a Ravenclaw that Hermione didn't know, but assumed she was his classmate.

"I have to pass on top of the class!" He grunted, flipping the page and drank his goblet of pumpkin juice until it was empty. "Can't have a Mudblood pass me again..." He muttered angrily in a whisper as to not pull any unwanted attention.

"At least study something else then," The blonde sitting beside him told him. "at this rate, you'll only be prepared for Defence and Charms. Then they'll really pass you in everything."

Hermione felt a nudge from her side and looked over at Fred, Bellatrix and Antonin all snickering in their corner of the table. "What's so funny?" She asked, tapping on Antonin's shoulder to get his attention.

They pointed over to the Gryffindor table where they could see the younger students try to sit as far away from the prefects as possible, while over at the Hufflepuff table, the students were trying to help the prefects as much as they could before being dragged away by fourth and sixth years.

"Really...?" Hermione raised a brow and shook her head in disappointment.

* * *

Of course, when Fred had said Molly was just being her controlling self, he didn't initially mean it so literally.

Here they were, sitting in the library, working on an assignment together in the library seated in the more frequented areas when they heard that shrill voice. "10 points for not putting your book away!" they heard her say from two shelves away.

"B-but I was going to come back, please Prefect Prewett, I didn't do anything wrong." They heard a second-year girl squeaked out, confused tinting her voice from the scolding.

"It's Miss Prefect to you. 10 more points!" It reminded Fred strongly of Percy back when he had made Prefect in Fifth and Sixth year, from the strongly controlling commands to follow every rule to the metaphorical stick up her arse, it irked Fred down to the very core.

"Oh, that's it." Hermione saw Bellatrix stand up and start heading over, before Fred lunged and grabbed a hold of her waist, trying to keep her back. "Frederick, let me go! She needs what's coming to her!"

"You're only a first year! She's a fifth year, she'll easily beat you, you know that!" He grumbled, also frustrated at the idea of his mother becoming a mini-Snape with the House Points.

"She's bringing all the houses down except hers! Let me have a shot at her, Just for a quick second!"

"Stop being a Gryffindor, Bellatrix." Those words froze her and she immediately took a seat at the table, suddenly passive as she was five minutes prior to the incident.

"I am **not** a Gryffindor, Frederick, nor will I ever be a part of those... those disgusting pigs!"

"Oh? Charging into a fight without thinking about it first? Sounds like a Gryffindor to me. I thought your family name was Black." Never had she seen Bellatrix shut up and shoot anger away from her face as quickly as the words had come out from Fred's mouth. The threats of being seen as someone unworthy of the name Black seemed to frighten her more than Hermione cared to admit. "Now, what would Aunt Cassiopeia do?"

"Blackmail." Fred barely had enough time to finish speaking before Bellatrix pipped up with a smile.

"Precisely." Fred smiled, the mischief of his other life seeping through the cracks and into his spirit, almost forgotten to the past, had come back full force. "And jinxing. You can't forget jinxing, Bella."

"Of course, how else would the message come across otherwise?" She stated as if it was the obvious.

_'Oh sweet mother of Merlin...'_ Hermione thought, knowing they were only going to make things worse.

* * *

_**The updates are getting more Frequent so that's good news! The summer coming up after the first year is done seems like it will be a bit longer than I first expected and we will get to see more of some of the other characters too.**_

_**Comments and Messages are always welcomes, and even encouraged! You can also comment down which character you want to see more of and I can try to incorporate that a bit more into the story. I am aware that most of the characters in the back are well hidden so I'll try to pull them forward a bit.**_

_**On a final note, should I start answering comments on the updates? (It'll either be at the very start or the end of the chapter and evident it won't be part of it.)**_

_**I hope everyone's exams or semesters went well, I'm about to enter exams week in University so I'm hoping to get high grades on those exams. **_

_**Have a good day and a possible happy new year if I don't update by then.**_


	17. Chapter 17

Finding out what Fred and Bellatrix had in mind in punishing Molly was an extremely difficult, but it did not take long to find out that they had already begun acting out their plan.

One morning, she had come down to the Great Hall as if she had a very bad limp on both legs and she was gritting her teeth the whole way down. She kept cursing at anyone who would ask what was wrong and the pained expression only proceeded to resemble one of anger and frustration.

"Molly, we warned you! You're the one who got on someone's wrong side!" One of the Prewett boys had scolded her near the end of breakfast. "You know you shouldn't do that!" A few Slytherins chuckled at the exchange, knowing she had gotten some form of punishment for her tyrannical grip over the younger students.

"I don't know who I angered! I haven't done anything; I'm simply enforcing the rules as I should be." She would answer right back. Everyone around her sitting at the other tables would groan and pull a face at the blatant lie. They weren't sure if she was lying or just plain oblivious to the entire situation.

"Well it's not our fault you got Bulbadox powder put in your drawers. We told you not to be so strict and you continued." The other Prewett finished. "You made your bed, now you lie in it." And with that, the conversation was clearly over and the two nearly identical brothers went to eating their breakfast while their sister awkwardly shifted as she ate toast.

Hermione and Antonin both looked to the Black twins and narrowed their eyes at the two siblings.

"You both did this." Antonin spoke first, accusation was clearly there and he was sure of it.

"No, we didn't."

"Prove it."

Hermione groaned at the two and looked back to the irritated Gryffindor Prefect, then looked back at her roommate and friend before shaking her head. The two just had to start finishing each others' sentences now. It was as if she and Fred had both returned to their previous years back in the Future.

"While I can't necessarily do that, I know you're responsible for this." Antonin continued after being shut down by the two. "But it's not entirely unwanted though. Thank you."

"Just wait until you see what we got the other prefects to do-"

"It's going to be wicked." and they continued with the sentence-finishing for the rest of breakfast.

* * *

"Once your potion is complete, bottle it up and label it with your name on my desk and you may leave afterwards." Professor Slughorn picked up a quill and began jotting down notes about the techniques used by his students such as amounts of stirs, figure 8 stirs or counter-clockwise, the speed, and even how the ingredients were dropped in.

One by one, the students brought their vials up with their names tied with a thread and left the class, many students waiting for their friends to finish.

The potions classroom was a lively study class that day, a good mood hanging above all the students as if a teacher had announced there wouldn't be an end-of-the-year exam, though sadly it wasn't the case. A rumour was going around that the prefects were being generous with point giving since breakfast after a young dark-haired girl, Cecilia Cooke, had gotten 5 points for finishing her bowl of oats completely.

It seemed to throw many older students into a confusion, as Prefects had originally not been allowed to give points, but everyone was being awarded points as if it was water and food.

One such instance happened after Potion's class that morning.

Walking through the halls with Annabelle Abbott, Bellatrix was on her way to Charms class after her Potion's completion when the halls filled up almost completely, marking the end of the scheduled classes at that moment.

"Miss Black!" The two girls heard the Hufflepuff HeadGirl call out to them from one of the classrooms. "Friends with a Hufflepuff? 10 points to Slytherin! My, my, what a beautiful sight to behold!" The tall girl gushed over the sight of the two first years so close to each other.

"I completely agree with you Ankita! A wonderful sight indeed!" A Ravenclaw prefect came into view and gushed with the girl. "Such House unity! 20 points to each of you!"

Once the HeadGirl and prefect left, Annabelle looked curiously over to Bellatrix to see a smug, satisfied expression on her face. "You... You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you?" she narrowed her eyes at her Slytherin friend. "No, you definitely had something to do with this, didn't you..."

"Prove it." Bellatrix shrugged before walking off past the snickering portraits. "Come, we'll be late for Charms."

* * *

"I think we must've earned 100 points, and that's an underexaggerating." Kingsley claimed later that afternoon in the library. "I earned points for opening my book at the right page the first time."

"It's an interesting surprise, I like it." Isabelle Yaxley replied back with a smile.

"It's not exactly the best surprise, per say, but I do hope this doesn't become a daily thing. Prefects are going to go wild with it."

"Reward for doing nothing? I'll take it for sure." Rabastan Lestrange hauled the stack of books back to the bookshelf.

"Better than losing points, remember how prefect Mullens reacted when Diggle lost us ten points for tripping a student in the halls by accident?" The Ravenclaw students all proceeded to shiver at the thought of the punishment their prefect had if knowledge of points lost by them ever reached his ears.

"Let's... Let's not dwell on that, shall we?" Kingsley swallowed thickly before opening his book and taking out his inkwell and quill.

"Yeah... Good plan Shacklebolt." Isabelle agreed with a whisper. "Let's not think about it further..."

* * *

In the days that passed, the point-giving spree slowed down relatively quickly and the point-taking as well.

It seemed as if the end of the academic examination period had caused everyone to relax almost immediately, the seventh years gathering outside the burn their class notes that they deemed unworthy of staying with them and celebrated with a game of Quidditch between the OWL and NEWT students.

The students seemed to enjoy the informal Quidditch game as no points were being counted and Professor McGonagall had been the one to referee the entire match before finally stopping the game when the Snitch was caught by Ravenclaw.

That evening passed and the entirety of Hogwarts assembled into the Great Hall in order to begin the closing Feast, marking the end of a successful, and thankfully unstressing year for the students.

No hunts for Philosopher's stones or death eaters seemed to make Hermione dance on cloud nine as she was finally able to enjoy her education as she had originally planned the first time she had attended.

The same could similarly be said for Fred, whom didn't have to stress about his siblings running around the school trying to get themselves killed in the process. Only now, he had to worry about his sibling killing someone, even accidentally, and that seemed to be a bit less of a burden as he was in actuality, seemingly encouraging it to the best of his ability.

The encouragement seemed to have proven useful as Molly was still walking funnily and bubbles had begun coming out of her ears in the middle of the Quidditch game. She'd been cheering quite actively for her House when a green bubble had popped out comically from her left ear, only for a series of yellow and blue bubbles to follow, giving unwanted cheers to the three other houses instead of her own. Even now, sitting in her seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, students were still giggling at the green and blue bubbles that were making themselves more evident with the annoying pops they made.

A shuffling sound turned everyone's attention to the front podium where stood the Headmaster in his silver glittering robes. He cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Another year gone by so quickly," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I do hope you've all enjoyed your classes and made many new friends along the way. I want to congratulate the upper years for their wonderful management of their stress during these examination periods." A snort or two were heard behind Dumbledore's twinkling glances around the room. " I want to congratulate Ravenclaw house on winning the Quidditch cup, and now, before I let you all dig into your feast," He took a pause and everyone looked up with excitement in their eyes. "The House cup is awarded, this year," He took another pause before waving his wand and changing the four banners to the ones decorated with badgers. "To Hufflepuff house!"

The house erupted in cheers and shouts of pride, kids jumping across the table to hug their friends. Annabelle Abbott had even left the table to go and hug Bellatrix, who did not seem to be enjoying the sudden contact and affection thrust onto her, and Annabelle certainly felt it as she back away just a bit before returning to hug her other friends.

The food materialized on the tables and everyone settled down to eat their meals, the happy air staying around them for the entire evening until everyone retired to their rooms for some rest, for the next day, everyone would be returning home for the summer break.

* * *

**Two updates in less than a week? A miracle if you ask me! **

**I hope you all enjoyed this rather short chapter, **

**I enjoyed writing this very much :)**

**Also, If you want to contribute some ideas or comment what you'd like to see for the second year, feel free to comment! I'm running a bit low on juice for ideas so I would love some ideas. I hope everyone has some pretty great holidays and I'll try and updated before Christmas!**


	18. Chapter 18

The morning came and the students had been woken up earlier in order to pack their belongings into their trunks and get ready to head down to the train station in Hogsmeade.

The boys had gotten their luggage all packed almost an hour before any of the girls emerged from their dormitory, many exchanging semi-tearful goodbyes despite the next time they would be seeing each other would be in September.

"Took you long enough Esposito! Could've gotten Yaxley married off in the time that it took you girls!" The sixth-year male prefects exclaimed when the fifth-year prefect emerged with the first, second, and third years girls with their bags.

"Oi!" The older student shouted from the side. "I am not that undesirable! Take it back Thompson!" He had almost whipped his wand out when the door to the common room open and in walked Professor Slughorn.

"The carriages are ready. Prefects, please escort the students down to the main gate. Seventh years, do stay back for a few moments. The rest of you, have an enjoyable summer and I hope to hear about it when you all come back." The Head of House smiled and waved goodbye to the students

The entirety of Slytherin house, except the seventh-years, all followed the prefects down from the school, just listening to them banter, most of them just laughing at Prefect Yaxley and his undesirability and his lack of social and romantic life.

It was a quiet journey on the carriages down to Hogsmeade, everyone being split apart from their houses and being placed with students no one knew very well. For some, they were lucky enough to be placed with house members, others, not so much.

But once at the train station, friend groups were quickly remade and reformed once boarded and the journey back to London began.

* * *

How Hermione found herself sitting in the compartment with 3 other crying girls, she didn't know. Here she was, sitting Anita Urquhart, Isabelle Yaxley and an unknown female from a different year all crying, exchanging goodbyes as if it was the last time they'd ever see each other.

Cecilia Cooke, a half-blood Ravenclaw, had come looking for her fellow housemate and had been dragged into the gaggle of crying girls.

"Why—why are you all crying?" The brunette exclaimed, trying to snake her way out of the gaggle.

Hermione zoned out during the conversation, making it very clear she didn't want to be stuck in the group hug or cuddle or comfort hug —whatever they wanted to call it— and looked out the window. Maybe she'd be able to get away without anyone noticing.

She looked back to the crying gaggle of girls and sighed. Cooke had finally given up om escaping the gaggle and took her place with the trio on the bench usually meant for two people and squeezed in. She shook her head and reached for her bag for something to do when she finally noticed the discreet waving of a hand on the window, out of view of the other girls.

She picked up her bag discreetly amongst the crying chaos and slid out of her seat, opening the sliding door quietly and leaving into the hall of the train. She looked to the person that was waving her hand and found that her saviour was her frizzy haired, slightly insane, roommate.

"Thank me later." Bellatrix grabbed her wrist and pulled her along the hall. "Be quiet." She ordered as they stopped near one of the compartments.

"Why?" Hermione whispered as Bellatrix crouched under the window, avoiding being seen. Hermione followed suit and crouched below the window.

"I want to hear what they're saying." she mouthed and pointed to them. They quickly quiet down and listened to the whispering. Hermione was able to recognise Andromeda, but the other voice, a female —Likely from a different house— it was evident neither Bellatrix or Hermione recognised the voice.

"Forget what they think." they heard the unknown female speak, "Look at how I am!"

"Your entire house ignores you."

"But people love me!" they could hear Andromeda laugh and some moving around.

"What are you both doing?" A voice asked loudly right behind them.

"shut up Frederick!" Bellatrix harshly spat before shoo'ing him away. "Secret."

"Oh, I see how it is." Fred looked between the two girls and the cabin door. "Alright." He walked slowly away. "Andy's being spied on!" He said loudly and knocked on the door before running.

"That bastard." Bellatrix and Hermione quickly got to their feet and quickly. "You snitch!" Bellatrix exclaimed when the two caught up to Fred, who was laughing his arse off near one of the empty trolleys.

* * *

When the train finally pulled into the station at King's Cross, the first thing that everyone did was look for their parents or guardians.

"Lucius, why is grandfather here?" Hermione asked her brother as he gave her luggage from the back on the train.

"Grandfather is here? But I saw father at the back." He said back, confusion in his voice. "Why are they both here? Usually mother is here."

"Let's go ask." Once the two had their luggage, they made their way through the thick crowd of parents and students before finding the parental figures standing outside of the crowd.

"Change of plans for a few days." Their father immediately began once the two were close enough. "Hermione, you'll be spending time with your grandfather. Lucius, you're with me." And just like that, Abraxas had disappeared with Lucius and his luggage, leaving Hermione with the elderly Septimus Malfoy.

"How was your term, my dear?" He hugged his granddaughter with both arms and kissed the top of her head. "Did you enjoy your time?"

"I did." she smiled and began gathering her luggage to leave.

"You don't wish to say goodbye to your classmates?" He asked. "I fear you won't be communicating very often with them for the next few weeks."

Hermione had quickly ran off to say goodbye to her friends while her grandfather watched from a distance.

* * *

**I'm so sorry it took so long to update, though I do hope you all spent amazing vacations during winter break! I know that this is a short chapter but Ido hope you are all intrigued.**

**A quick reminder that feedback helps the Quill flow~**


	19. Chapter 19

**The start of summer has arrived for our wonderful duo and things could not be anymore tense!**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I do hope you all enjoy what I have to offer for the next few updates!**

* * *

Less than an hour into the afternoon and Hermione had already settled into the slightly smaller home that belonged to her grandfather. Upon stepping into the main entrance, she was immediately greeted by the happy portraits of her ancestors who whispered gleefully and waved at the younger girl, so obviously one of their own.

She had brought her bags to her room with the help of an elf and had decided to go roaming around the pristine eggshell coloured walls. The spacious halls we in their best condition as if painted only a few days before and the chandeliers shining their sparkling crystals. The bright white-based colours were much more inviting and comforting than the manor was.

When she was about to exit through the back door, she noted the clouds that had begun getting darker in greys and had decided to retire back to her room and unpack her belongings.

Why was she being separated from Lucius? She was as much of a child to Abraxas as he was and she seemed to be forbidden of going to the manor, for how long she had no idea. And what of her mother? What had happened to her? Why had they decided to send her to her grandfather's of all places. Everyone in the family knew Abraxas and Alexandra were not close to Septimus Malfoy, yet her father still took the decision.

A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts and an elf appeared on the other side.

"Missy is being summons for dinner," the elf said happily. "Master has sent to go find her."

"Oh thank, you, I'll go." Hermione sent the elf off and got ready for dinner, staying back for a few more minutes to ensure she looked alright.

Dinner had been a very quiet event, a usual greeting shared and the plates being brought by the House Elfs and they had begun eating as per habit. Occasionally Hermione looked up to see her grandfather eating his dinner at his usual slow pace and occasionally he looked up at his granddaughter and continued eating. It wasn't until nearly the end of the meal when Hermione began speaking.

"Grandfather, may I know why Lucius isn't here as well?" Hermione asked, putting her fork and knife down beside her plate. "Did something happen while we were gone?"

Her grandfather wiped his mouth with his napkin and sighed. "At the moment, let's just enjoy our dinners. I will inform you of what you need to know in the following days." He answered.

"Will I at least be able to see mother?" she asked.

"Perhaps at some point during the summer you will, yes." He continued to eat his dinner in silence, leaving Hermione in confusion for the remainder of the evening.

Something was wrong, she knew it from the deepest part of her heart. In the memories of this life, she had no recollection of ever being separated like this, and she felt the need to investigate, but a part of her respectively told her to leave it be for now and spend time with her grandfather, whom had offered to show her the new animals he had purchased for the large grounds surrounding the expensively large home.

"Hermione, I do hope you do not hold it against me that I withhold the information from you. I, myself, do not have all the details and would prefer not to divulge anything until I have all the pieces." He explained silently as he finished his plate. "I do not want to cause a misunderstanding within our family, so I will be keeping you in the dark for now, my dear." He finished and summoned an elf who helped clean off the dirty dishes from the table.

"It's alright, I understand." She responded back, picking up her plate before the elf could and she walked off towards the kitchen with it.

The remaining of the evening was spent in the library playing a game of checkers and Grandfather Malfoy asking about the school year and if she'd met anyone interesting, and even went as far as to tell her of the last time he had conversed with her Head of House, Professor Slughorn.

They had played a dozen games of Hermione had shown him a card game she had learnt from Anita Urquhart and she had even told him of her Hufflepuff friends whom he seemed interested and intrigued in her choice of friends. Her grandfather had also shown her how to play an advanced card game he used to play back in the days of his youth and even pulled out his antique chessboard to play a game of wizards' chess against Hermione, who lost five matches and had won only one against the older, more experienced player.

It wasn't until she was about to retire to her room that her grandfather stopped her and urged her to sit while his chessboard put itself away.

"You wanted to know why Lucius isn't here, correct?" He asked, his old steel-coloured eyes looking into her softer blue ones.

"Yes of course!" Hermione had to keep the excitement of new knowledge out of her voice as she listened carefully to her grandfather. Instead of responding immediately, he looked off to one of the older bookshelves for a few moments, contemplation in his expression before sighing and turning back.

"I have no doubt you have noticed a few odd tensions these last few weeks. You have always had an eye for detail, ever since you were small." He started, Hermione nodding along to the words. "I'm also aware you know more than you should, to what extent, I'm not aware." Hermione could feel some cold run down her nerves, worried that she had given herself away so easily. "What I teach you here is to stay between you and I. No one is to know, not your father, your brother or your friends."

"Understood completely." She caught his words and the small deliberate slip.

"I have told your father I am to teach you to be a proper Pureblood wife," He started, having stood up from his chair and gone to one of the bookshelves. "though I have different plans for you, dear."

He surveyed the shelves, his finger running across the bindings and the titles before stopped and pulling one particularly old tome and lightly brushing the dust from the cover and returning to the table, book in hand and placed it in her hands.

Secrets of the mind blocked by Anna Artfell.

"I will be teaching you Occlumency for the next few weeks while you are here with me." He stated, taking his seat once again in his velvet chair. "I shall teach you to protect the secrets in your mind, but you will need to do one thing for me."

"And what is that?"

"In order to teach occlumency, the teacher must be able to go within the mind and memories of the student in order to gage the comprehension of the teaching until he or she is able to block out the teacher." He informed her gently, not wanting any unwanted emotional outbursts.

"That means-"

"You will need to give me permission to enter your mind during our lessons."

* * *

With the Blacks, things were strained the moment they had stepped foot inside of Grimmauld Place.

Bellatrix and Andromeda, before even having said hello to their aunt or cousins, had been screamed at about three times and they hadn't even been home for a total of ten minutes yet. But at least they'd been called by their names.

Fred on the other hand, had received a cold hug and was referred to as 'boy' and 'child'. He'd been surprised when Narcissa wasn't there to greet them as she had been there the last time.

"You remember Sirius? And your cousin Regulus?" His uncle Orion showed the two younger children to Fred. "We'll all be staying here indefinitely with you and the girls." He smiled, though Fred couldn't help but notice the hand squeezing the two boy's shoulders.

"Y-yes, can't wait to spend time with you." Regulus said timidly while SIrius kept quiet.

"Sirius, you won't greet Frederick?" Orion's voice had the threatening undertone that had Sirius roll his eyes, barely noticeable, but Fred had been used to detecting these sassy things from his sisters.

"How are you Frederick?" Sirius asked, not looking into his eyes, but next to them. In the distance, he could still hear Aunt Walburga shouting obscenities at Bellatrix a few floors above and the shrillness carry through the air.

_'This is going to be a long summer'_ He thought, looking at the clock and sighing once he realised only fifteen minutes had gone by since he arrived home.

"CLEAN UP YOUR FILTHY HAIR YOUNGLADY! YOU LOOK NO BETTER THAN A COMMON PROSTITUTE!" Was amongst the things that Walburga shouted at Bellatrix and Andromeda soon received the short end of the stick rather quickly. "NO GOOD CHILD! DISRESPECTFUL LITTLE BRAT!" Was heard when Bellatrix reappeared without Andromeda by her side.

"You're lucky, she hasn't shouted at you yet." She told him before he'd even left the entrance of his own home. Sirius, Regulus and Orion were still standing near him, his uncle clearly had gotten used to all the shrieking from his wife but his eyes winced just a bit at the shrill tone and echo her voice released.

* * *

"Tell me about your friends Frederick." Orion and Walburga were quick to ask as dinner time rolled around. The table had been enlarged to fit the branch family alongside theirs.

The mantra he'd repeated to himself the whole train ride home repeated in his head and spoke aloud as if he hadn't expecting the question. "All pureblood and Slytherin, Aunt Walburga." He answered, monotone and without any hint of emotion.

"Please, do not be so cold, aunty is fine." Walburga smiled, more a disgusting excuse of a grin according to Fred's inner voice.

"No, I'd much prefer Aunt Walburga." He responded dryly. He wasn't about to start being respectful or affectionate to the woman who he knew would stop at nothing to annoy every member of the family.

He heard Bellatrix snigger and Andromeda cough on her peas while Narcissa remained quietly seated between her mother and father, both watching the exchange with neutral expressions.

"Say Walburga, is there anything new at all in your life recently?" His father asked curiously, trying to hide his teasing grin with a napkin as he deflected the conversation. "Surely you haven't simply wasted away in that old cottage of yours with your sons?"

"Most certainly not! I've been getting a portrait done recently!"

"Fearing an incoming death, are we?" Druella mumbled just loud enough for her husband and her children to hear. "God bless us." she mumbled under her breath.

"And you shall keep that portrait anywhere but here, understood?"

"Oh, but I had found the perfect place for it too." She pretended to sulk in her chair across the table. "Upstairs in the empty hall"

"As long as it doesn't speak when it doesn't need to." Cygnus sighed, feeling half defeated, knowing his cousin wouldn't let go about her stupid portrait.

"No worries there, cousin." The older woman smiled—again, grimaced grossly—and looked right back to Fred once more. "now, Frederick, have you met any interesting witches?"

"Why do I have the feeling you're trying to get me married?"

"Well it's never too early to start seeing someone."

"I'm twelve."

"He is talking to-" Bellatrix was cut off by Fred's foot hitting her shin roughly and she stopped talking and glared at Fred.

"Talking to whom?" Orion's curiosity was peaked. Fred groaned inwardly when the entire table began pitching in, trying to guess who the mystery person was, though he had a feeling his mother and sister would be more than willing to share the information for a price in the very near future.

Somehow, dinner had passed surprisingly quick and he simply waved his family off and head up the stairs to go get a good night sleep. Though the moment he'd opened his bedroom door, he quickly took note of the single bed in the room, the bed his sister would usually have now absent. And his bed. This one was definitely smaller.

"Oh, we must have forgotten to inform you." Orion came up behind him discreetly. "Your room has changed floors." Fred turned and looked the older man in the eye, his dark brown eyes meeting his off-shaded brown ones with suspicion.

"What do you mean by that?" He inquired further, not liking how the branch family was suddenly everywhere in the house, especially where they weren't meant to go.

According to his memories and what he'd heard from his mother's letters, the second floor bedrooms were always the more luxurious ones, reserved for the main branch of the family, the quality of the walls and furniture being newer—and thus in better quality—than the upper, older floors.

"You now sleep on the fourth floor, not the second."

"And who took this decision?" Someone's authority was being undermined and he was aware of it. Never had his uncle been so disrespectful of him before, even if he was superior in age. Though he still needed to know where this arrogance came from, especially if it had just began popping out of nowhere like this.

"We did." Fred watched his uncle walk away, the sly, almost inexistent smile curving his lip just a bit in the corner. His uncle stopped at the stairs and looked back at Fred before opening his mouth once more. "And you're no longer with your sister. Separate rooms have been given to you both. Pleasant night, Frederick."

'_What!? But we've always been together! We've always shared a room ever since we were little!'_ His thoughts quickly took over his rational side and his frustration began seeping through while his uncle took his leave back down to the main floor. _'Wait, we haven't always been together... Only since August... '_ He quickly recorrected his mind, a cold washing over his head as he ran up the stairs to the fourth floor where he passed Kreacher cleaning the crippling old wallpaper without even saying a word. _' I never told Hermione! Dammit! '_ He screamed and cursed himself inwardly for letting it slip his mind. She had told him that she wouldn't be able to get in touch with him very often due to the fact that she was going to be staying with her grandfather—Fred made a note to remember this detail specifically—and he'd let what he'd been trying to tell her for an entire month slip right by his mind as if it was a useless fleeting thought.

There had to be someone he could talk to who wouldn't throw him straight into St. Mungo's Janus Thickey ward for mentally ill patients or accuse him of being a worthless blood-traitorous imposter searching for attention...

After he had located his room, the nicer one from the grimy level of the house, he had taken out his journal that he'd begun writing in about the past and the future. He didn't know how long he had written for, but he'd covered three pages, both sides of the page, full of writing when a knock on his door caused him to push the small leather book under his blankets.

"Freddie?" A small blonde head pocked in through the door curiously. "Can I come in?" He smiled. He hadn't seen Narcissa very much until dinnertime and he'd been a bit worried by her very calm manner. He waved her over and patted the other end of his bed as an invitation to sit.

"Did something happen?" He asked as she practically ran and jumped onto his bed and folded her legs beneath her long skirt.

"Too many things while you were gone! It feels like a prison!" She almost shouted, though she caught herself in time, not wanting to attract the attention of the wrong person with her loud voice.

"Prison? How so?" He inquired further, wanting to know what exactly was going on ever since he'd left after Christmas with Bellatrix and Andromeda back to Hogwarts.

"Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion. They're trying to change everything." She said. She began explaining from the little things to the bigger things. "They started saying that they'd already done the changes so it was too late to undo them and father began letting it slide, but it's gotten out of hand Freddie. They kicked me out of my room and aunt Walburga started insisting to mother that she find me a suitable husband.

Fred was appalled at the information being revealed. Of course he know of arranged marriages within Pureblood families, but he also knew that the Black family women had the opportunity to choose their own spouses—as long as they were pureblood or, in rare cases, very high standing halfbloods—and to hear that his aunt was pressuring his mother in choosing a husband for a ten year-old was downright infuriating.

"And what did Mother say about this?"

"Mother told me never to repeat the words so I'll give you the just of it. She said '_take your shitty outdated mudblood worthy opinion and shove it through your back door.'_ Aunt Walburga turned purple!"

"And that's being nice about it?"

"I forgot most of the words mother used, but it was much, much longer than that." Narcissa sighed.

"Well, I'll have to tell mother that I approve whole-heartedly of her opinion." Fred snorted and extended back to lay on his sheets.

"Forget about aunty for a bit now," He detected an excitement in his youngest sister's voice replace the doom and gloom of the conversation ten seconds before. "tell me about your friends! Was your first-year fun? Are you playing Quidditch or part of any clubs? How are the Notts doing? What about the Malfoys?"

Fred looked off to the grandfather clock in the corner and sighed. Ten O'clock at night and his sister was this full of energy, it was going to be a long night of answering a few dozen questions.

* * *

**The next update should come withing the next two or three weeks and I'm excited to say that much of their fifth year has been drafted and much of the sixth year has been made into writing as well!**

**Any questions or comments are welcome in the Reviews! I love any sort of comment, whether it's just where you're reading this or when you are, it's always a joy to see a new Review or comment on it! And if you're too shy to leave a comment, I'd love to get a message! I answer them all!**

**Feedback does help the quill move~**


	20. Chapter 20

**FINALLY UPDATED THIS! FUCKING MIRACLE I TELL YOU**

* * *

Hermione had taken the night to mull over the thought of practicing Occlumency with her grandfather.

Why was he teaching her Occlumency this summer? Why was she the only one learning it? Had she given herself away in the such little time she'd spent there? Had her father discovered her secret and told her grandfather to confirm? Was that why she was learning away from everyone else? No, in the short few days she had spent with her grandfather, there's no way he'd have known, not unless he already had a suspicion.

The thought of her grandfather going through her memory was a scary one. She wasn't sure what part would be the worst part to see; her childhood as a Muggleborn, the war that she'd been almost forced to fight, or the simple fact that she wasn't really a Malfoy at heart.

As much as she felt she could trust her grandfather, there was still these little factors that came in, owing to her slight hesitation. What if this kind face was a façade and she was the one being caught, what if he'd been asked to investigate and what would happen if he saw the things she knew?

Though something did stick out to her like a sore thumb.

He asked for her explicit permission to look into her mind. A skilled Legilimens could enter one's mind and exit with the knowledge they wanted without the victim ever even knowing they were there. If he had wanted to know something, he'd have done it without ever mentioning.

She slowly let herself drift to sleep until the sun came back up and she dreamt of the past and what her grandfather might do if he found out.

* * *

That afternoon, Hermione found her grandfather sitting in his comfy chair in the library, his reading glasses sitting gently on his nose while he held a thick tome in his lap.

"Something seems to be on your mind." He claimed, his head not even lifting to look at her. He marked his page and placed the now closed tome on the side table to look up at his grand-daughter. "this is about my request last night, isn't it." He observed Hermione's eyes widen slightly as she began to mumble to herself. "I understand it was quite an invasive question. I apologise if it has made you uncomfortable, my dear."

"May I ask a question?" Hermione took a seat across from the elder and smoothened the long skirt out of sheer habit.

"You may ask me anything, my dear." He smiled and folded his hands in a proper manner and spoke in a kind tone. "You should not feel as if you cannot ask me something; you are family." He noticed her shoulders relax and her eyes remain closed for a few moments, along with the deep, silent breath that followed the bouncing on the leg off the floor. 'I need to ask about problems later...' He tucked the thought into his other mental reminders and waited until his grand-daughter spoke.

It came as barely a whisper, but he heard the question. "Why do you want to teach me Occlumency?" she asked, daring not to look him in the eye, it seemed.

"As expected," He started with a small sigh. "this is an understandable question and I shall give you an answer." He took a sip from the small mug on the table and set it back down. "As you already know, you are privileged to knowing secrets the rest of the society could never even dream of knowing or imagining. And there are reasons these secrets stay as such."

"Teach it early." She said quietly. He nodded.

"Yes. One of the large inconveniences of teaching this uncommon art is that one must prod into the student's mind, privacy and one may learn things they wish they hadn't." He explained into detail, more than the night before. Hermione took in all the information he would give her about how he disliked teaching the art but he had to teach her father and she soon learned that Lucius had no gift for it whatsoever, worrying her a bit. "We do not need to begin learning it now, but I do hope you will allow me to aid you." He finished. "I will let you continue to think about the offer."

As if the conversation had never taken place, her grandfather smiled and asked what she wanted for breakfast so he could have the Elves prepare it.

* * *

A knock on the front door brought Hermione to the front door running, despite being in a uncomfortably trippable-length skirt.

She hadn't realised they were expecting a visitor but she was glad either way. It meant she could see someone else other than her grandfather or the house-elfs—not that either one was bad, it's just that she needed to see more people.

"Dear, slow down, I don't move that fast." She heard her grandfather laugh from the other hall. Maybe she shouldn't have left so quickly...

"My apologies!" She shouted back before slowing down near the door and regaining her breath. She opened the large white door and raised a brow at the woman and man standing across from her.

The girl, probably around the age of 16, Hermione presumed, looked damn close to her own appearance. The pale skin, hair nearly as pale as snow, the crystal grey eyes, it was as if she was looking at another female member of her family.

"Cousin!" The girl had almost jumped into her arms and hugged her tightly, the gentle blond waves moving all together. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Hermione remained confused for a few moments before her mind sent her an image of them together when they were younger, running around the field where Hermione's mother and another woman was watching them.

"Aldrich, so nice to see you again." Hermione looked to the side and saw her grandfather arrive. "Thank you for bringing Pandora with you." He turned to look at Hermione. "Don't you just leave me behind like that, young lady." Despite his words being a light scold, it felt more of a light hearted reprimand.

"It's my honour Uncle. We have not seen each other in years, perhaps this can become a regular occurrence?" Aldrich smiled as he finished his light hearted request.

"I do enjoy the thought of this idea, yes let's, now please, do come in."

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Hermione to begin wracking her brain for information on this Pandora and Aldrich. They were obviously relatives, Pandora referred to her as cousin and Aldrich referred to her grandfather as uncle.

Though all her brain gave her was Childhood Abraxan rides with her cousin when she was younger, and talks of France. Seeing as her cousin was yet to be an adult, she easily assumed that this Pandora was either attending Beauxbatons in France or was tutored at home.

"Oh the mountains were beautiful! Hermione, did I tell you about the unicorns our headmaster keeps in the grounds? We study them in one of our nature classes." Pandora barely allowed for any room for answers. "I just love the creatures we use but I will always find a home here! Everyone has their posh French accents and I can barely understand some!"

"Pandora, darling, perhaps you would like to drink your tea? Before it gets cold?"

"Oh, of course! Thank you, father!" Pandora finally turned her attention to her cup and drank quietly as if she hadn't just spent the last five minutes talking without taking a single breath. Hermione wondered briefly where Pandora kept all that air...

Though Hermione wondered off into her thoughts, she barely caught the situation turn. "How is Pandora's engagement proceeding? Without problems?" Her grandfather asked, snapping his fingers to make the tea pot tip and pour himself and his nephew a cup.

"It's going well. We've received a positive answer from her fiance's side and we need only await until they are both of age." Seeing her grandfather nod, Hermione noted how happy Pandora seemed.

"Has plans been made for Dear Hermione's future engagement as of yet?" Aldrich smiled to the younger member and looked back to her grandfather.

"Times are changing and I will see what I can do to have it be her choice." Hermione was taken aback at the show of thoughtfulness from her grandfather's side. "These generations are keeping an eye for love rather than convenience. If she wishes for an arrangement, she shall bring it up for herself."

"Hermione is so young! She needn't worry about that just yet!" Pandora pipped up after finishing her cup. "Cousin should bloom before thinking of such trivial matters!"

Hermione decided she liked this cousin of hers, despite the initial weariness.

* * *

**I recently broke my arm in a snowboarding competition and I will be unable to write for a while (it was my dominant) and the writing will be so much slower so do not expect a another update for a few weeks.**

**Though i will be brainstorming with my friend so all comments are greatly appreciated and I will attempt to reply to them as well!**

**Have a great evening and toodles!**


	21. Chapter 21

It was a long week in London, having to deal with Walburga and her _brood_—no insult meant for Sirius—. No one was enjoying her presence, and neither Andromeda or Bellatrix would ever truly know how much Cygnus and Druella suffered having to deal with the extended family.

One morning, as Bellatrix emerged from her new room, a sharp pain hit her in the leg.

"Out of the way girl! Or move quicker" The scratchy voice of her aunt made her ears want to shrivel up.

_'How about—no.'_ She stood her ground and purposely stepped slowly—and gracefully for humour's sake—directly in front of her aunt, despite the cane whacks her aunt was doing to her leg. She continued on through the badgering of insults until she reached the stairs, where she put one hand on each railing and whistled away, her aunt unable to pass her in the stairs. Her aunt's frustrated grunts and tries to pass her in the stairs only fuelled Bellatrix to continue on slower and she even began reciting one of the tales from Beedle The Bard: Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump._ 'One more set of stairs'_ she mused. And so she continued reciting out loudly to annoy her even more.

Once on the main floor, Walburga finally pushed by Bella, ignoring the grin and slight cackle from the young girl.

"You really seem to enjoy annoying Mother." she turned and saw Sirius a few steps up watching her, face avoid of any expression.

"What of it?" She turned and stepped up to be on the floor below him, yet she was still taller than the seven-year-old by a few inches. "Are you going to _snitch_ on me?" She practically hissed it at him. "Or are you going to keep quiet like a good boy?" She watched the idea float in his eyes for a second before a small smile graced his young face.

Bellatrix swore that she saw amusement in his eyes, and perhaps the spark of something in the back of his head. "I want in—as long as I'm not caught." Bellatrix was now grinning.

"Of course, dearest cousin of mine. Let us go grab breakfast and converge elsewhere for planning, shall we?" She shifted her tone into an innocent one, coated in sweetness and innocence.

"Let's go." Sirius followed his cousin to the dining room, the excitement of planning brewing his appetite.

The two cousins joined the table for breakfast. Almost everyone was eating together today; they were only missing Narcissa and Freddie—the lazy ones—otherwise they'd all be there. The moment they sat together, Bellatrix's mother raised a brow as she sipped her coffee and looked between the two for a short second before turning her attention elsewhere.

That afternoon, after debriefing Fred and Narcissa, they all converged in his room on the fourth floor. Though it was dusty, no one seemed to mind at all. And being the troublemaker that he was, Fred easily supplied products to help in their task to thoroughly drive their aunt mad that she might consider leaving.

"We could do something to her wine," Bellatrix suggested. "she's _always_ drinking that." she grinned. "How do you think having an itch inside your belly feels?"

Narcissa pursed her lips at the remark. "I don't think we should affect food or drinks... Let's start somewhere else."

Fred was quick to cut her off though. "It doesn't need to be harmful, just extremely inconveniencing."

"You sound like you have an idea." Sirius grinned, the spark shining in his eyes. "What do you need?" Fred thought for a moment if he should say something.

"Diagon Alley. Pick up a few things."

"What is this about Diagon Alley that you need?" The four kids turned around and saw Druella standing in the doorway, curiosity in her eyes. "What are you all doing up here? Where's Andromeda?" Fred, Narcissa, Bellatrix and Sirius all stayed quiet until Sirius eventually asked.

"Aunty, can we go to Diagon Alley?" She looked at them, her eyes silently questioning the four in front of her. The idea that Fred, Bellatrix and Sirius were all huddled away from everyone else was mildly concerning, knowing that Bellatrix wasn't too fond of Sirius to begin with, but she also noticed Narcissa was here, so they couldn't be planning something too horrible. Merlin bless the sweet girl.

"Tell me what it is you need, then I'll decide." She certainly didn't miss the malefic smirks on three of the four children. It made her wonder, that's for sure.

* * *

A few hundred kilometres away, Hermione had been enjoying the presence of her cousin Pandora and uncle Aldrich's presence in the manor. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy that of her grandfather's or the elves, but she needed more than that. She did enjoy playing chess with him and learning about tid-bits of manners and more about Occlumency, but she certainly needed some feminine presence as well.

It strongly reminded her of her mother.

She hadn't seen or heard of her mother since the winter holiday and she was worried. She couldn't ask her father, he most likely wouldn't help her or tell her anything. Lucius wouldn't have much of an idea either, she presumed. She didn't think her grandfather had very much information on her whereabouts. She distinctly remembered that he had said she might be able to see her during the summer, but that only told her he knew she was at least alive—a relief to say the least—and Hermione doubted he had her exact location.

She was enjoying a cup of tea in her room when she heard the door open. Through the mirror, she could see Pandora making her way in and come and join her on her small bench. "How is my favourite cousin?" She asked cheerfully. Her hair was tied simply, a strand taken from the sides of her face and tied neatly behind the head while the rest fell in cascades. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go explore?"

Hermione raised a brow and looked at the older girl suspiciously. "Explore where?"

She motioned out the window. "The town. I want to see what they have."

"The muggle town?" She asked, surprised at the suggestion. Pandora nodded excitedly.

"Oh yes. Father would never let me go, he says muggles are vile, but we could go together. Father and Uncle aren't home right now." She said, her expression full of hope.

Hermione couldn't help but sigh. "Have you ever even set foot in the muggle world?" She asked, and added on almost as fast. "What makes you think I have?"

Her expression went from excitement to regret. "Oh... I thought we could go explore together... Cousin quality time."

Hermione couldn't refuse the puppy dog eyes Pandora made. Curse those sparkly blue eyes.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Hermione and Pandora to find something casual that wouldn't scream last century's fashion. Their casual, flowy, afternoon tea dresses were hardly considered part of the current trends of the decade. They seemed more Regency-Era-like than anything else and they would, therefore stick out like a sore thumb.

"Where did you get these?" Pandora asked, touching the soft blue material of the knee-length skirt. "I can't see Uncle Abraxas allowing you to wear something like this." She gave the skirt a tentative twirl and moved around in the short, transfigured heels. They were short, like ones you might give a 12-year-old for training in heels.

"I know a few muggle-born friends and they often show me magazines or pictures from home." Hermione mentioned. "Did you know their pictures don't move?"

Pandora gasped. "They don't!?" It seemed to have piqued her interest quite thoroughly.

"Yes, they just stay in place. They don't move or speak. Odd isn't it?" She said, further deepening her cousin's curiosity. Pandora continued to ask questions, some that Hermione legitimately had no answer for such as: "How did the camera work?" "What kind of parchment they used for the pictures?" and even "Can you show me how to build a camera?" It honestly made her wonder if Pandora believed her to be a genius in Muggle inventions or a photographer.

It took about an hour for Hermione to go through her's and Pandora's wardrobes to find something not too odd to wear out in public. Hermione knew she couldn't go out into the muggle town wearing one of her robes, that would just pull attention. Part of her wanted to go out in her current robe—it was so comfortable—but they just weren't close to current trends right now. Pandora kept picking her casual tea dresses saying they would work, only for Hermione to tell her it was a few decades late compared to muggle fashions, effectively shooting down Pandora's suggestions one by one.

"Could we perhaps just go buy some muggle clothes?" she suggested, watching Hermione pick a light blue coloured for herself and one white one for her. "This way, we can have a second set the next time we go out." Hermione stopped searching and stood up, thinking the idea over. "I don't know this town and where the boutiques are, we would have to search-"

"Leave it to me!" Pandora cut her off. "I will find us the boutiques quickly!" Hermione whistled silently at her excited cousin. While she had no doubt about her cousin's ability to find a store, she did have doubts on if Pandora would choose a good combination of the modern trends together.

Hermione, about to give the confirmation for Pandora to find the shops, she got an idea. "Do you own any fit and flares? That go about to... here?" She motioned to just below the knee.

"Of course! I have robes of every kind!" Pandora immediately dove into her closet and pulled off a few robes off her hangers and presented them to Hermione one at a time. "Which do you think would be good?" Hermione looked at each, examining the colour, length, sleeve and cleavage coverage, down to the pattern and flaryness of the dresses. "I like this one." She lifted the powder-blue with the white drops-pattern near the edge.

Hermione had to admit it, she really did like the appearance of the dress and the texture of the cloth used. It was thin like cotton, but to the touch, it felt more like a cashmere sweater or a comfortable woollen garment. Hermione knew that expensive robes were often charmed to be warmer than they appeared, thus allowing witches to go out in thin dresses in the middle of winter and not freeze. It was brilliant the types of charms one could use for different parts of their daily life. _'It'll look a bit off, but it's not too far from what I've seen.'_ "I think you'll be good with this." She said.

Pandora smiled and quickly set it aside so she could help Hermione pick hers from the batch she had pulled from the closet. Though from Pandora's perspective, it seemed Hermione was a bit shyer and she seemed uncomfortable picking from her cousin's clothes. "Oh cousin~" She said, adding a sweetness to her tone. "I think this one would be nice on you." She pointed out a cream coloured one with a petal design on the entirety of the dress.

* * *

**So I'm not dead, I guess that's the good news and this story isn't dead either. It's just that im focusing on finishing the chapters for my shorter story, Better to be Informed. I'm glad to know you all haven't abandoned hope for this story. I received a review the other day for this and I remembered that I should have updated a long time ago!**

**My arm got better by the way. Have to do physiotherapy with it. All the muscle is gone from my arm and I can no longer lift my large soup-mug with my hand anymore... RIP XD**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the more daily summer snippets and comment down if you'd like more or if I should just skip further up to the next year. I for one, can't wait to start posting for second year, but I do also enjoy adding the casual snippets here and there. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry I've been gone for so long! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

Instead of floo'ing straight to the Leaky Cauldron, Druella Black decided she would take her children —Fred, Bellatrix and Narcissa— and Sirius her nephew, on a walk all the way to the Leaky Cauldron. It was a sunny day in London that day and she was simply dying to get away from the grim house where her sister-in-law was constantly screaming and shouting out her lungs at anything and everything that bothered her in the slightest.

Sure, when they arrived Bellatrix's skin may have burnt a bit in the sun, but the hour-long walk had done all five of them some good, all the while Druella thought that it was a wonderful way to exhaust their energy so they wouldn't create a fuss or argue with her or go off running like other kids their age.

After quite some time, they finally arrived at the dusty pub where she couldn't help but be amused by her son's facial reaction to Bellatrix turning red and Narcissa's gasp and barely silent giggles. Sirius simply kept quiet, looking away to stop himself from laughing. Well, it certainly had been her eldest daughter's fault for wearing all black on such a nice hot day, Druella mused to herself.

"Madam Black, good to see ya 'gain!" the barkeep waved enthusiastically, "Day out with yer kids, I see?" She brought them along to the bar, one of the waitresses bringing a plate of small sweet tarts and fruit for the four children.

She took a seat and pulled a small pouch from her pocket, placing a few galleons on the table. "They're the ones who requested to come, so why not. It's a wonderful day outside. Fresh air never hurts."

"Is it? Been 'ere since dawn. Reckon it'd hurt me eyes if I step out." He joked. Druella gave a small laugh, snatching one of the sweets her youngest daughter had attempted to grab, then sticking her tongue out momentarily and popped the pink sweet into her mouth. "Enjoy yer day, all the shops are open. Fortescue's busy I 'eard. All the kids're goin' there today." Once she placed the empty place onto the counter and waved him goodbye, Druella motioned the children over to the wall and tapped her wand a few times, allowing the wall to open and show the magical alley.

"We'll stop at Gringotts first, then we'll purchase what it is you want, understood?" She told them, each of them nodding and following her quick pace down the cobblestone road. Druella had expected one of her children to pull at her sleeve anytime now, as per usual whenever they passed a shop, and as per usual, the first was a small pull. . "Yes dear?" She looked to Narcissa.

It took her about two or three seconds of silence before she actually spoke. "Could I get a bracelet or a necklace?"

"We'll see." Narcissa nodded and followed along, skipping and humming to herself, content with the answer she'd received.

Next it was Bellatrix's turn to tug on her sleeve, this time it was quicker. "Can we take the Knight Bus back? when we're done here?"

"NO." Druella told her daughter. She looked incredulously at her daughter, confusion on her face."Why would you ever want to do such a thing?"

"Annabelle told me it's fun, so I want to try it." Bellatrix shrugged and kept up the pace.

"Who's Annabelle?" Then it dawned on her. "Annabelle Abbott?" Bellatrix nodded. Her mother laughed inwardly. "No Knight Bus." Bellatrix groaned and muttered an understanding of her words.

Reaching the bank hadn't taken long and the trip down had been quite short. Of course, they were on one of the lowest levels of the bank, but it seemed they had the steepest dips on the way down. Fred had to catch Narcissa before she was almost thrown overboard during the sharp turns and the hasty halt of the creaky metal cart. There hadn't been any brakes or slowing of speed, simply an abrupt stop. Sirius lurched forward violently, bumping into his calm aunt and Fred had braced himself with his hands on both sides.

The goblin opened the cart and let out the dizzy children and the woman to the front of a large metal gate where their family insignia was molten into it. The line Toujours pur were clear as day.

"Your vault, Madam Black." He said courteously, going back to the cart and sitting patiently.

Druella placed her ring and her left hand flat onto the door. The creaking echoed loudly through the cavern; the surrounding walls shook lightly as the large door opened heavily.

Fred almost gawked at the ridiculously large piles of golden coins lining every corner of the deep vault, though he stopped himself before anyone could notice. There were finely crafted drawers and cabinets closed securely, most likely concealing heirloom gems and jewellery, and large immobile muggle portraits lined behind the two large bookshelves. The vault itself was impressive, but the contents were even more so.

"Narcissa, you may choose one piece of jewellery." She stressed and pointed to the maroon desk, where Narcissa smiled brightly and ran towards one of the cabinets, delicately opening the first drawer to inspect the contents. She turned to her nephew and motioned inside. "Sirius, is there something you desired? You may pick an item." She didn't miss the way his widened a bit and the slight curl of his lip at her words. "Frederick, you may pick something as well. Bellatrix, what is it you wanted?"

"Books. I already know what I want." Was all she said, walking confidently to the nearby bookshelf where she inspected every sleeve and smiled, her teeth showing momentarily before slipping a book out of the shelf and hiding it away from the others, flashing it to her mother to receive her permission to withdraw.

Fred looked around quite a bit, moving around the bookshelves and drawers in an attempt to spot something that might catch his eye. It was in the far corner where he spotted what seemed to be an old, rolled up, and obviously used, dark rug. He touched it and immediately pulled his hand back, surprised at the magical object shaking with energy. While it didn't move out of its place, it was now very evident to him that it was a flying carpet. "Wicked."

"Leave the carpet Frederick. Pick something else."

"Damn..." Was all he could think of before moving on to the drawers where Narcissa was still sorting through the various jewels. He looked at some of it, some not quite as feminine as he'd first imagined. Some were men's rings, not quite as showy as the women's but still quite evident that the person had wealth, while others were chains with single rocks or small metal decorative piece where runes were discreetly carved into said pieces, most likely to add a protective spell for the wearer or owner. He also didn't doubt that some of them would horribly curse or disfigure someone if they weren't a Black or pureblood.

Narcissa momentarily stopped her search and noticed Fred looking around, fidgeting around with a few. "I like this one here. I think it would look nice on you." She pointed to a small chain with a carved twilight sapphire as its centre piece. He picked it up and inspected the rune. _'Algiz...'_ He looked towards his mother and turned to show her the necklace. "Mum, what does the rune Algiz mean again?"

His mother made her way over and picked up the necklace, bringing it close to her face to inspect the rune. "I think it's Strength." She said, unsure before correcting herself almost immediately. "No, that's Eihwaz. Algiz is protection." Now sure of herself, she added: "A fine piece to wear for yourself."

"I told you so!" Narcissa exclaimed with pride. "I think it would be marvellous on him." His mother unclipped the back and brought it around Fred's neck, fastening it securely and letting it hang.

"Excellent pick, my dear." She rubbed Narcissa's shoulder affectionately. "One of my favourite runes, truly. It will protect you from danger." She then turned to Narcissa and placed a hand on her cheek, smiling softly. "A wonderful choice for him, dear." Narcissa's smile grew brighter before pulling her mother over to the drawer and questioned her intensively on the other pieces and their runes, their meanings and even abilities.

Fred watched the two in the distance interact as Narcissa would delicately pick up an occasional bracelet or pendant and earrings and show them to her mum before picking up the stoner from his new chain and watching the glimmer shine in the torches._ 'How did she become so... dark during the war...'_ It was so hard to think about, she seemed to innocent for such a dark fate that awaited her in her supposed future. From how Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa behaved, comparing one to the second, then to the third, Fred realised that they were all black sheep in their own way; Bellatrix had become the dangerously loyal fanatic; Andromeda had left legacies of family for love; and Narcissa seemed to be the purest and openly loving of the three. It felt like the girl simply oozed out affection and love wherever she went.

In such a notoriously dark family, that was dangerous. All three of them held dangerous positions: Narcissa and her heart and affections on display for the world to see, Andromeda choosing a man would come to destroy the single sane connection between the then-insane Bellatrix and Narcissa. The bridge had been destroyed and, while Bellatrix did hold her family's beliefs, they had been too extreme for their scale and she had unintentionally and at the same time, intentionally caused the downfall of the male line of her own House because of her own ideals. The once-largest House that boasted its blood and heirs had been brought down by the one who was the proudest of them simply because of her upbringing and insanely twisted blood-purist ideals.

He wouldn't cease thinking about this situation until they finally emerged from the bank and his sister having to knock him out of his state of silent, yet depressing train of thought.

Fred had quickly discovered that escaping his mother's grasp was more difficult than he had initially assumed. The woman was constantly watching him like a hawk: one step away from her side and she shot him her signature tight-lipped, shame-inducing frown that would slowly bring any child back to her side. But for his sisters and cousin, it seemed as if distractions came in abundance!

First it was for Bellatrix in the form of a twelve-year-old girl with blonde hair that had appeared out of thin air with a miniature version of herself. Annabelle greeted his mother and pulled Bellatrix away by dragging her away almost forcefully. Then, as if on command, another child appeared. This time a boy with messy dark hair, dark eyes with specs and a caramel skin tone. He was being accompanied by a woman whose appearance highly contrasted his own. Fred's gaze lingered on the boy for a bit, wondering why he seemed so familiar.

"Druella, is that you?" An older woman approached the other woman slowly and carefully before she retook her previous posture and beamed. "It's been quite a bit since I've last seen you!" The woman quickly turned to Fred, Narcissa and Sirius. "It's me, your aunt Dorea!"

Dorea. Aunt Dorea... Dorea Potter...

Fred's eyes went right back to the boy's face and it all clicked into place. _'Sweet Merlin..., It's James... How could I not tell...? He looks just like Harry now that I think of it...'_ He continued to wonder why he hadn't seen it initially. _'Maybe it's the skin... No, Harry wasn't much lighter, just a bit...'_ He continued to think. _'The eyes maybe?'_ He attempted to recall the boy's more specific facial features, but all that appeared was a blurred image the features too fuzzy to distinguish. _'Not again...'_ He thought. He had to remember to mention the fogging memories to Hermione...

When Dorea finished catching up with his mother, she turned and saw that the majority of the children had vanished, safe for himself and Narcissa, who was glancing curiously at the shops from her mother's side, staying put quietly.

After Druella convinced herself that the kids would be alright, they continued off to the apothecary. Approaching the entrance to Knockturn alley, Fred noticed Druella take her daughter's hand and motion him closer to her side, almost holding his shoulder so he wouldn't run off.

He had to think of a way to broach the subject of ingredients for a potion his mother had surely never heard of. He knew if he wasn't careful, she would ask questions, and he wanted to avoid that at all costs. They soon arrived at the Apothecary right around the corner of the entrance where the door had been propped open due to the nice weather when Narcissa drew a vivid frown and her nose scrunched up, causing her to plug her nose using her fingers. "Mother, I'll stay outside." She told her, not leaving any room for insistence to follow.

She simply waved her hand. "Alright dear, stay where I can easily find you." Narcissa nodded and walked away from the door of the shop and off in the direction of the sweeter area of Diagon Alley. Entering the dark apothecary, his mother turned to Fred. "Now, Frederick, what did you want to say? You've been fidgeting for the last minute there."

Fred gulped._ 'Nothing like straight-forward conversation.'_ He felt the piercing gaze of his mother on him, staring deep into his dark eyes, enough to make him look away instead of the defiant staring contest he might have attempted in another time. "I need a few ingredients." He started, quietly.

"Gee, I had no idea." Her unchanging expression left him suppressing his laughter. "Which ones? For what potion?" She asked, bringing him deeper inside and standing to the side where she picked a jar fitted with seven smaller different compartments. When Fred gave a semi-innocent smile, she sighed and went to the first ingredient. "Tell me which ones. Your father won't know."

Nodding his head slowly and walking along the ingredients, he began pointing to certain compartments, some lovely and some simply nauseating; Beetle eyes, Peppermint, Sprigs of Lavender, the grosser ones being Horned Slugs and Bat Spleens.

"Sweet Merlin Frederick," His mother mumbled as she closed the lid on the jar and held her face away. "What in the world are you brewing?" Her rhetorical question caused him to snort in response, not answering the obvious sarcasm.

"Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies." He simply said as his mother approached the counter.

"Definitely a Rosier, that's for sure." She muttered under her breath. "Understood, but I will be there when you're brewing, for safety's sake." She told him. That much was understandable so he nodded with no questions or suspicions verbalised afterwards. She dropped a few galleons onto the counter and took the change and the questionable ingredients with her, stashing it into her handbag and leaving the apothecary with her son now in search of her two daughters and nephew who had all separately ran off in differing directions.

It surprised neither of them that they found Bellatrix near Knockturn Alley's dark artefacts antique shop, the only person stopping her was the Hufflepuff trying to drag her away from the tempting shop. It honestly surprised him that Bellatrix managed to bring her this far to begin with, and thankfully, Sirius had been found in a more innocent, yet mischievous area of the safer Alley.

"Sirius Orion Black, put that dungbomb back this instance." had been the first thing his mother said upon laying her eyes on his cousin who had taken a dungbomb and had been attempting to place it near an old wizard's bony ankle. He quickly put it back, the elderly wizard giving him the stink eye and quickly walking away from the child.

Returning in the direction of the Apothecary, it seemed to surprise Sirius just how she knew exactly where all her children where. Walking past the ingredients shop, they easily spotted Narcissa seated in Florean Fortescue's Ice cream parlour, enjoying a nice sundae. Entering the shop, Druella quickly noticed the presence of Abraxas and Lucius Malfoy, the latter sitting with her youngest while enjoying his own treat.

"Where's Hermione?" Bellatrix asked Fred discreetly. He shrugged and looked around to see if he could spot her, but there was no success. He and Bellatrix approached the table and sat across from Lucius and their sister. Abraxas had been standing at the other end of the parlour, a small cup of black cherry ice cream in his hands, watching his son and the young girl. "Enjoying your ice cream Cissy?" Bellatrix winked with a toothy grin. This caused Narcissa to turn a bit pink—It could have been a possible sunburn though highly unlikely —and she became quiet and looked down in embarrassment.

"How are you Lucius?" Fred greeted him.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Fred sweat-dropped at the man across from him. He had looked straight at his little sister as he had said this. Sure, it might have been discreet, but he had had completely dismissed his question with an off-comment-or-question on his sister.

"Uh huh..." He hummed quietly. "Hey—Uh— Where's Hermione?" he looked around again, just to make sure he hadn't missed her in case she had to step out or go to the loo.

Fred caught the tone shift in his expression. His expression had gone stone cold "She's staying with grandfather. Etiquette lessons, I've been told." Lucius said, almost hesitantly. He looked to his father who was now facing away from them. "I haven't seen her in the last few weeks."

"A few weeks? Etiquette lessons? I don't know... That doesn't sound very plausible Lucius..." Fred admitted. Hermione wouldn't willingly let that happen, she just wasn't the type of girls to let herself go through that kind of lesson or torture—and for weeks at a time—it just didn't make sense.

"I'm not the one who made the decision." Fred glanced to where Lucius' eyes had flickered: to Abraxas who was deep in conversation with Druella. "I'd bring her home if I could, but I'm not in charge. My owls keep coming back unanswered."

"So _he's_ not allowing any contact with her?"

"Absolutely none, I'm afraid. It's quite silent at the manor. It's only father and I." Fred raised a brow at the words. He was being suspicious. "Though I've noticed Lord Nott's visits are increasingly frequent."

"Freddie, we should go visit them! We could keep them company!" Narcissa quickly jumped into the conversation, having finished her ice cream.

Fred lost the air of seriousness and ruffled his sister's hair teasingly, bringing her into a headlock. "Alright, we'll keep your boyfriend company then."

"He's not my boyfriend!" She turned red and squealed at the knuckle rubbing roughly on her head.

"Oh, I know" He said joyfully before saying seriously: "Too young for boys." He released her from the headlock and helped her flatten the blonde hair gracefully, letting it flow down her shoulders as it had before. "Let's go, mum's bringing us home." She frowned but nonetheless said goodbye to Lucius, thanking him for the company and leaving him to finish his own small sundae.

They stopped at Sugarplum's sweet shop and then the Leaky cauldron for tea before returning to their home.

Upon their arrival at Grimmauld place, they were all met with Cygnus standing at the door, arms crossed and ready to interrogate. Asking why she'd taken so much time, she simply stated that it'd been a nice day to go to Diagon Alley and using the floo would be a waste of a perfect day. She brandished a bag of candies labelled filled with cauldron cakes and liquorice wands and had additionally mentioned needing some dress robes for an upcoming social event. At the mention of dresses, Cygnus groaned and walked away, Druella smiling faintly for a split second before hiding it once more. She shoo'ed Fred off with the hidden jar and Bellatrix, Narcissa and Sirius all retreated up to the attic to converge and plan their next step.

* * *

Hermione watched amused as her cousin gawked at anything and everything. She had to stop her from running off to each shop or stall along the old-fashioned village. With Pandora so excited to simply see new things, Hermione was sure they were pulling attention from small crowd away from the stall._ 'Definitely a Ravenclaw.'_ She thought, watching her cousin ask one of the stall keepers about the O-shaped pieces of fried dough he was selling._ 'Doughnuts... They're just doughnuts...'_ Hermione had to keep her laughter down.

Pandora turned, her skirt twirling around her and a grin stretched across her lips. "Hermione! Look! The sir says they are down-nuts!" She held up the thin golden pastry up for her to see. She took a small bite and hummed pleasantly. "Oh, they're delectable sir! Thank you!"

"Doughnuts, dear." The elderly stall corrected her with a hearty laugh. "And you're very welcome, young lady." He tipped his hat down politely at her. "Does your lovely sister want one as well?" He offered, motioning Hermione over to the small stall. She strolled over and carefully accepted one with a small thank you. "Say, you girls just move in? I've never seen either of you around before." The man inquired.

"Visiting family!" Pandora exclaimed happily, still taking small bites of her treat. "And this is my cousin."

The man glanced in disbelief between the two cousins, his gaze going between the two for a few seconds. "Not sisters? Does that hair run in the family then? Anyone would think you two were identical." Hermione and Pandora looked at each other and giggle quietly. The pure white colour of their hair was sure to pull attention, they knew that. "Ooh," He seemed to come to a realisation. "Your folks are Scandinavians, aren't they?" Pandora shook her head with the same energy she'd had earlier. "No? My goodness. Well, I hope you enjoy the village. Say, if you girls are still in town next week, we've got a festival starting. You should come and check it for yourselves."

Before Hermione could reply, Pandora gasped and the spark of excitement returned to her grey-blue eyes. "A festival? For what? What are we celebrating? Will there be more of these tin-nuts?"

The elderly man laughed again. "Doughnuts, sweetheart." He corrected her again. "And there'll be all kinds of food to try. Games too, the whole village will be out." It seemed the more the man spoke, the more energy he was transferring to her cousin.

Pandora turned to Hermione; Pandora seemed to be bouncing with energy, the pure excitement of a muggle social event driving her to her ends. "Please Hermione? Can we go? Please?" She began begging incessantly until Hermione finally stopped her, Pandora attempting to use her puppy-dog eyes on her.

"You have to ask Grandfather!" Hermione muttered, trying to get her to slowly tone down her excitement little by little. She doubted even Merlin realised why Pandora, a 16-year-old, was asking the permission of her, a 12-year-old, if she could go. In a normal setting, the roles would have been reversed.

After waving goodbye to the seller and continuing along the main road, Hermione almost laughed while Pandora kept glancing and asking her about the cars driving by, which Hermione pretended to be none the wiser and tell her she didn't know what they were either. She quite enjoyed the well-kept cars with their bright colours passing in their best conditions.

They saw multiple people—mainly parents—around the town hanging garlands, children playing outside on their bicycles, hiding and playing tag with their friends, while some waved at the two girls and glanced curiously towards them.

After walking through the town for a good portion of the hour, they soon found themselves near a small stream. The two sat in the grass, minding their skirts, and took off their shoes to let their feet sit in the cool flowing water, a welcomed sensation from the hot day.

"Hermione, there's something I need to tell you." Pandora kept her eyes on the water, watching as a fish flew by. Hermione looked at her cousin in confusion, surprised that all the excitement had left the atmosphere right there. "Your mother, Alexandra. Do you know where she is?" She inquired, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Hermione sighed and looked up to the clouds, knowing this was not going to be an amusing conversation. "I don't. I haven't heard of her in a few months. I've received nothing; no letter, parcel or even a single slip of paper."

"She is in France." Pandora said almost immediately.

"How do you know this?"

Pandora seemed to stay quiet for what seemed to be minutes before answering quietly and in a low voice. "She is staying at one of our family homes, though I am unable to tell you the exact location." Hermione stayed quiet while Pandora continued to speak softly, carefully explaining why Alexandra Malfoy couldn't stay at a Malfoy home. "My grandmother Vinda has allowed her to stay at one of our homes near Switzerland. It is the most I am able to say without giving its location."

"Vinda?" Hermione asked. The name seemed familiar enough but she couldn't pinpoint where.

"Vinda Rosier." Pandora told her. "She is your relative, I simply do not remember if she is your great or great-great aunt, Hermione. How could you forget her?"

"_It slipped my mind._" Hermione answered quickly. _'I didn't know the Rosiers were related to us... Well, then again, all the purebloods are somehow... I shouldn't be so surprised...'_

Just as Hermione was opening her mouth to ask for further details, three owls were flying towards them at full speed, carrying more than one letter each. The vanished excitement reappeared instantly, the heavier conversation having vanished instead as Pandora wondered avidly about for whom the letters were and from whom they were coming.

* * *

**Anyone notice anything... interesting?**  
**Also, what did you guys think of this update? I was thoroughly impressed by myself after finishing this and I'm actually proud of myself.**


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